The Cowboys declined to pick up a fifth-year option on the cornerback’s rookie contract, the team announced Monday.
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The decision comes as no surprise after the Cowboys selected Connecticut cornerback Byron Jones with their No. 27 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Claiborne would have been due $11.08 million in 2015 had the Cowboys exercised the option. Instead, he will earn $2.607 million in the final year of his $16.264 million contract and enter the free agent market following the season.
Claiborne, 25, has been plagued by injuries since being drafted No. 6 overall by Dallas in 2012, giving the Cowboys more incentive to pass on extending his contract. He was limited to four games last season after suffering a season-ending torn patellar tendon and missed six games in 2013 with a hamstring injury. He has just three interceptions in 29 games, 26 of which he started.
