If Brandon Carr can keep his rubber band popping, Cowboys corner could score financially

OXNARD, Calif. -- Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr was practicing Friday wearing two rubber bands. One was around his hair. The other seemed out of place.

Carr had a rubber band around his right wrist, seemingly odd for a player who is always using his hands in an effort to break up a pass.

Former NBA point guard Maurice Cheeks used to wear a rubber band as well. He would snap it as punishment when he committed a turnover or made a bad play.

For Carr, it's the opposite.

"It's [for] good things," Carr said. "I pop it when I make plays."

He did that Friday evening in practice when he forced a fumble after Dez Bryant caught a slant pass. Carr also intercepted a Tony Romo pass in 7-on-7 work.

But Carr was more fizzle than pop in 2015. He played most of the season with a right shoulder injury that didn't require surgery but kept him from being able to lift his arm above his shoulder at times. Carr said he's better now and has full range of motion.

Carr finished 2015 without an interception for a second consecutive season and tied a career low with six pass breakups.

Those weren't the numbers the Cowboys expected from Carr when they signed him to a five-year, $50.1 million free-agent deal in 2012.

Carr doesn't have an interception since Thanksgiving 2013. The Cowboys pushed him to accept a pay cut, and he relented in the offseason. Carr's base salary was reduced from $9.1 million to $3.6 million to help the Cowboys save about $3.6 million in salary-cap space.

Carr now enters a contract year with a chip on his shoulder and needing a big year to cash in for a second time in free agency.

He was in that same position in 2011 with Kansas City. That's the last time he wore a rubber band around his wrist. He finished 2011 with a career-high four interceptions.

"I brought them back out to get the juice going again," Carr said. "I need to put something in it."

Carr was referring to another big day. But how much money could a rubber band possibly hold?

"Oh, I only carry a few bills at a time," Carr said. "I don't want to be a target around here. You know a big target out here with all those dollar signs. Everybody wants to come at you, so you have to watch out."

Carr's big contract with the Cowboys has made him a big target for criticism.

Even though he hasn't missed a game in his eight-year career, Carr hasn't been the playmaker the last two years he once was. And the Cowboys need that now more than ever.

They're coming off a year in which the cornerbacks combined for only two interceptions as the Cowboys tied an NFL record for fewest takeaways in a season with 11.

Carr said the Cowboys' defense has an edge to it this year.

"I think it's bigger than a chip at this point -- it's probably like a big boulder," Carr said. "We're not satisfied with last year's results."

But do the Cowboys' cornerbacks take the criticism about lack of takeaways personal?

"I got bags under my eyes -- I don't get much sleep, man," Carr said. "Still trying to find the ball."

Carr isn't alone when it comes to the pursuit of that next big deal. Four of the Cowboys' top six defensive backs are entering the final year of their contracts, including cornerback Morris Claiborne and safeties Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox.

Carr was asked if his mind-set changes going into a contract year.

"Get the ball, get this money," he quipped. "Keep it simple.

"We know we all got some unfinished business. We pretty much started this thing together and put in the work for the last four or five years. Things didn't go the way that we thought they would for a few years, but you know the good thing about sports is that you get a clean slate, a new year. It's time for us to come out here and do it all over again."

Twitter: @DMN_George

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