Morris Claiborne
Claiborne with the New York Jets in 2017. | |||||||||||||||
No. 21 – New York Jets | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: |
Shreveport, Louisiana | February 7, 1990||||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 192 lb (87 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Shreveport (LA) Fair Park | ||||||||||||||
College: | LSU | ||||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2018 | |||||||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is an American football cornerback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country and was unanimously recognized as an All-American. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys sixth overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Early years
Claiborne was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended Fair Park High School in Shreveport, where he played for the Fair Park Indians high school football team. He was a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com.[1] He played quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive back. As a senior, he had over 2,000 all purpose yards and 30 touchdowns as a quarterback.
Claiborne was also on the school's track & field team, where he competed as a sprinter. He won the 100 meters at the 2009 Louisiana Outdoor State Championships, with a career-best time of 10.76 seconds,[2] and also ran the fourth leg on the 4 × 100 metres relay squad, helping them earn a first-place finish at 42.06 seconds.[3] He also placed second in the 200 meters at the 2009 Region 1-4A Championships, with a personal-best time of 22.21 seconds.[4]
College career
Claiborne attended Louisiana State University, where he played for coach Les Miles's LSU Tigers football team from 2009 to 2011. After spending his freshman season as a backup in 2009, he started 12 games in 2010 and recorded 37 tackles and a team-leading five interceptions as a sophomore in 2010, and was named a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection.[5] Following his junior season in 2011, Claiborne won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the year's best defensive back, earned first-team All-SEC honors, and was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American.
Professional career
Claiborne was not perceived as a first-round draft pick prior to his junior season.[6][7][8] By midseason, however, he had drawn the attention of NFL scouts and analysts, having erased concerns his sophomore production resulted from playing opposite of Patrick Peterson.[9][10] Towards the end of his junior season, Claiborne had established himself as the best cornerback prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft, unanimously projected as a top-6 selection.[11][12][13] Claiborne scored a 4 out of 50 on the Wonderlic Test, which is an aptitude test given to NFL prospects to test basic intelligence.[14] After being drafted, Claiborne admitted he "blew the test off" (the Wonderlic test) after seeing that it had "nothing on the test that came with football".[15]
Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert jump | Broad | Wonderlic | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 ft 11 1⁄8 in (1.81 m) |
188 lb (85 kg) |
33 1⁄4 in (0.84 m) |
8 1⁄2 in (0.22 m) |
4.43 s | 1.56 s | 2.58 s | 4.12 s | 7.01 s | 35 in (0.89 m) |
9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) |
4 | |
40 time and vertical from LSU Pro Day[16] |
The Cowboys traded with the St. Louis Rams (who had expressed their desire to trade out of the sixth pick in order to collect more draft picks) for the sixth pick, and selected Claiborne ahead of the Buccaneers. The Rams received the Cowboys' 2012 first, which was used on defensive tackle Michael Brockers with the 14th overall pick, and a second round, which was used on wide receiver Alshon Jeffery with the 45th overall pick by the Chicago Bears after a trade.
Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones explained after Claiborne was selected that Claiborne was the only player that the Cowboys would trade up for in the 2012 NFL Draft, but considered it a far fetched idea because Claiborne was ranked as a top five player in the draft with the Cowboys picking 14th overall. Claiborne was ranked second on the Dallas draft board right after first overall pick Andrew Luck.[17][18][19]
Claiborne selected jersey number 24 and joined a crowded defensive back unit featuring former Pro Bowler Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick and newly signed veteran Brandon Carr.
Claiborne officially signed his contract with the Cowboys on Monday, July 23, 2012, just a few days before the start of training camp. Claiborne signed a fully guaranteed deal worth $16.4 million over four years (the Cowboys included an option for a fifth year if they desire) with a $10.3 million signing bonus.[20] There was no offset language in the contract.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2012 NFL Draft with cornerback as their top draft priority and traded up with the St. Louis Rams moving from the 14th position to the 6th position, in exchange for a second round (45th overall) draft choice, in order to select Claiborne in the first round.
2012 season
Recovering from a surgically repaired wrist, Claiborne missed minicamp and all of the organized team activities but was still named the starter at right cornerback. There were high expectations for him during his rookie season, as he finished with 55 tackles and one interception, while suffering a number of minor injuries and being targeted by opposing teams in order to avoid Brandon Carr on the left side.[21]
2013 season
In 2013, Claiborne bulked up from 185 to 193 pounds and seemed motivated to play in the team's new 4-3 defense. His progress was slowed first by a sprained knee he hurt in preseason that made him miss three weeks of training camp and later by a dislocated left shoulder he suffered in the season opener. Forced to wear a harness to stabilize the shoulder and play through the injury, Claiborne had poor performances and was passed on the depth chart by Orlando Scandrick after the third game.[22] He also faced adversity with the death of his father and from missing 6 games with a hamstring injury.
2014 season
In 2014, Claiborne missed most of the preseason with knee tendinitis and an AC joint separation. He began the season as the starter at right cornerback with Scandrick suspended for the first two contests but returned to a reserve role after the third game, even though he made the interception that clinched the win. When told of his demotion from the coaches on September 23, he walked out of the Cowboys' practice facility but returned later that night.[23] On September 28, he sustained a noncontact torn left patellar tendon against the New Orleans Saints and was placed on the injured reserve list after four games.[24] In December, he also had his right knee scoped to strengthen the other patellar tendon. The Cowboys opted not to pick up the fifth-year option of his rookie contract.
2015 season
![](../I/m/Morris_Claiborne.jpg)
In 2015, Claiborne's rehab from a potentially career-threatening injury went better than expected, regaining his previous form and being able to avoid missing time in training camp. Coming from two previous disappointing seasons, where he only started a total of 10 games, the season-ending injury to Orlando Scandrick opened the door for him to be named the starting right cornerback. He ended up starting 11 games, missing five contests with hamstring and ankle injuries, while registering five passes defensed and no interceptions.
2016 season
On March 11, 2016, the Cowboys re-signed Claiborne to a one-year contract worth $3 million, that could reach a maximum of $3.75 million with incentives. In training camp, while Orlando Scandrick was out recovering from a knee injury, he earned the starting left cornerback position. During the season, he showed the potential that was expected from him since the 2012 NFL draft and had his best season with the Cowboys. In the week 4 win against the San Francisco 49ers, he played a key role in the fourth quarter with an interception and tackling wide receiver Torrey Smith short of a first down on a crucial 4th-and-6 play, getting the ball back so the Cowboys could run out the clock. In the next game, he limited All-Pro A. J. Green to 4 receptions for 50 yards (including a pass breakup of a sure touchdown), contributing to a 28-14 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Against the Green Bay Packers, Claiborne had to leave in the third quarter because of a concussion. Unfortunately in the next game after a bye, he severely injured his groin during the Cowboys’ overtime win against the Philadelphia Eagles in week 8. There was a fear that the injury could require season-ending surgery, but the team decided to let it to heal on its own and not place Claiborne on the injured reserve list. After a 9 game absence, he returned for the divisional-round playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, but he injured his ribs in the first half and had to leave the game with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
In 5 seasons, he had 151 tackles, four fumble recoveries, and four interceptions, never recording more than one interception per season and only played in 47 games out of a possible total of 80.
New York Jets
2017 season
On March 18, 2017, Claiborne signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets, who were looking to replace veteran Darrelle Revis at cornerback.[25][26] Claiborne started 15 games in 2017, the most since his rookie year, recording 43 tackles, eight passes defensed and one interception.
2018 season
On March 15, 2018, Claiborne signed a one-year contract extension with the Jets.[27]
Career statistics
NFL career statistics | |||||||||||||||||
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Season | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
Year | Team | GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Asst | Sack | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
2012 | DAL | 15 | 15 | 55 | 43 | 12 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 1 |
2013 | DAL | 10 | 7 | 26 | 24 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2014 | DAL | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | -8 | -8.0 | -8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2015 | DAL | 11 | 11 | 37 | 30 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2016 | DAL | 7 | 7 | 26 | 24 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 27 | 27.0 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | NYJ | 15 | 15 | 43 | 36 | 9 | 0.0 | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 28 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 62 | 58 | 194 | 162 | 34 | 0.0 | 5 | 47 | 9 | 28 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 4 | 50 | 1 |
References
- ↑ "Morris Claiborne Recruiting". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Morris Claiborne Marks". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ "LHSAA 4A State Championships". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Region I-4A Championships". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ "Southeastern Conference". www.secdigitalnetwork.com.
- ↑ Prisco, Pete (May 1, 2011). "Flash forward: Top 32 picks for the 2012 NFL Draft". CBSSports.com.
- ↑ Pauline, Tony (May 3, 2011). "Stanford's Luck headlines early look at top 2012 draft prospects". Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ Reuter, Chad (May 4, 2011). "2012 mock draft: First look with Luck and Heels". CBSSports.com.
- ↑ Pauline, Tony (October 24, 2011). "Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson high in midseason NFL draft rankings". SI.com.
- ↑ Schrager, Peter (November 15, 2011). "Midseason 2012 NFL Mock Draft". FoxSports.com.
- ↑ Schrager, Peter (January 10, 2012). "Post-regular season mock draft". FoxSports.com.
- ↑ Nawrocki, Nolan (January 24, 2012). "Mock draft 1.0". Pro Football Weekly. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012.
- ↑ Banks, Don (January 27, 2012). "Andrew Luck tops pre-Super Bowl NFL mock draft". SI.com.
- ↑ Mike Florio, Claiborne gives birth to a four on the Wonderlic, NBCSports.com, April 3, 2012.
- ↑ The Sports Xchange. "Clairborne admits he blew off Wonderlic". The Sports Xchange. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ↑ "Morris Claiborne Ratings". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ Machota, Jon. "Cowboys Player Profile Series: CB Morris Claiborne". SportsDayDFW. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ↑ Hawkins, Stephen (2012-04-26). "Morris Claiborne To Cowboys With 6th Pick After Trade During 2012 NFL Draft". Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ↑ "Cowboys Draft Day Three". DallasCowboys.com. DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ↑ Eatman, Nick. "Claiborne Officially Signs 4-Year Deal Worth $16.4 Million". DallasCowboys.com. DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ↑ "Morris Claiborne 2012 Review, Final Grade". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ Carey, Bill (October 1, 2013). "Cowboys bench former first-round pick Morris Claiborne". SportsIllustrated.com. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ↑ "Mo Claiborne storms out of facility". Retrieved February 19, 2016.
- ↑ Archer, Todd (September 29, 2014). "Morris Claiborne out for season". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ↑ Lange, Randy (March 18, 2017). "CB Morris Claiborne Signs with Jets". NewYorkJets.com.
- ↑ Wesseling, Chris (March 18, 2017). "Jets sign Morris Claiborne as Revis replacement". NFL.com.
- ↑ Wesseling, Chris (March 15, 2018). "Jets re-sign CB Morris Claiborne to one-year, $7M deal". NFL.com.