Cowboys CB Claiborne: Dez's competitiveness brings out best in us
OXNARD, Calif. -- Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne is unfazed by the fight between fellow corner Tyler Patmon and superstar receiver Dez Bryant that occurred on Monday. The 25-year-old veteran also says that the team doesn't view Bryant's antics as distracting.
"Dez is a competitor," Claiborne told Dallas-area KTCK-FM on Thursday. "He's a competitor. He brings the best out of all of us. When he's out there doing all of that, we don't take it really as something bad or a distraction.
"We know what type of player he is. And he knows what type of guys we are. And he knows we're going to compete. He knows we're not going to back down from him. And it makes it all better. And in the end, it brings us closer as a team."
According to Claiborne, every rep is like a game to Bryant. The two-time Pro Bowl receiver will even engage defensive backs in hand-fighting during regular walk-throughs. Claiborne is one of the cornerbacks who will respond back by trying to strip Bryant of the football.
Walk-throughs, seven-on-seven, or scrimmages, Bryant will challenge even the entire secondary.
"Whoever is up there guarding him at the time, he's talking," said Claiborne. "And whoever's out there playing against somebody else, he's talking. It makes it good competition. It makes it fun at practice where it's not just quiet out there because a lot of guys like to go about their business and not talk. He's one of those outspoken people who wakes everybody up."
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