ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 11: LeGarrette Blount #29 of the New England Patriots tries to break away from Morris Claiborne #24 of the Dallas Cowboys and Greg Hardy #76 of the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of the NFL game at AT&T Stadium on October 11, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Mike Stone/Getty Images)

Cowboys may be on the verge of losing another key defender

This could be an impactful loss for the Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys, like many teams in the NFL, entered the 2017 offseason facing a number of free agent decisions, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Before mid-March, the Cowboys had lost the likes of defensive linemen Jack Crawford (Falcons), Ryan Davis (Bills) and Terrell McClain (Redskins), and safeties Barry Church (Jaguars) and J.J. Wilcox (Buccaneers) to contracts elsewhere.

Now, it looks like former LSU star Morris Claiborne will join the line of folks headed out the door and the Baltimore Ravens are reportedly a prime suitor for his services.

Claiborne and fellow cornerback Brandon Carr remain unsigned at this point and, to be frank, the former first-round pick has been an NFL disappointment so far in his career. Still, it would be fair to indicate that Claiborne has made strides and the Cowboys would likely be better off with him than without him for 2017 and beyond.

Dallas did pick up veteran defensive back Nolan Carroll from the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency and that will help to stabilize matters on the back half of the defense. There is still plenty of uncertainty, though, and it will grow if and when Claiborne officially lands elsewhere in the coming days.