Morris Claiborne limited to individual drills

The Cowboys defense suffered a major blow on Tuesday when linebacker Sean Lee tore his ACL during practice.

The loss of Lee will increase the pressure on the rest of the defenders to play well and stay healthy if Lee’s injury isn’t going to be the first of many unhappy repeats from the 2013 season. Both parts of that charge have been difficult for cornerback Morris Claiborne over his first two seasons and the start of OTAs saw Claiborne limited to individual drills after having shoulder and pinkie surgery this offseason.

Claiborne said in April that he would be ready to go when OTAs got underway and says now that he hopes the medical staff will “let me loose” soon, but he’s waiting and watching right now. It’s something that’s been the case far too often for the sixth overall pick of the 2012 draft, although Claiborne remains confident that big things are coming once he does get cleared for everything.

“The sky is the limit,” Claiborne said, via ESPNDallas.com. “I’ve got big dreams. Where my mind is for this season, it’s really unbelievable. I’d rather not talk about it. I’d rather just show.”

Claiborne added that he and the rest of the defense feel like they have something to prove this season. With Lee out, Claiborne limited and defensive end Anthony Spencer’s outlook for the season uncertain after microfracture surgery, they need to get to work if they’re going to prove that last season was anything but par for the course.