Chiefs reportedly sign CB Morris Claiborne

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive overhaul continues even into training camp.

According to Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports, cornerback Morris Claiborne has agreed to terms with the Chiefs and will fly to Kansas City Thursday to finalize the deal. It’s a one-year deal, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

The Chiefs have agreed to terms with free agent CB Mo Claiborne, a source tells me. He’s flying out to K.C. tonight.

— Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) August 8, 2019

The #Chiefs are giving CB Mo Claiborne a 1-year deal worth up to $1.5M, source said. He’ll be suspended the first four games of the season, which KC has known since they began negotiating with him. https://t.co/jWR36KsuR6

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 8, 2019

Claiborne will provide more depth to a secondary that had its issues last season. He will join the likes of Bashaud Breeland and Tyrann Mathieu who have also been brought in by Kansas City to ensure that the team can stand up a little bit better to opposing quarterbacks.

The Chiefs will have to wait a bit to deploy Claiborne. He will miss the first four games of the season due to a suspension, which goes a long way toward explaining why he was still available this late into training camp.

Morris Claiborne facing four-game suspension for substance abuse violation

Veteran cornerback Morris Claiborne is one of the more surprising names still left on the NFL free agent market, but it now makes more sense that he has not been signed with training camps well underway.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Claiborne is facing a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He is appealing and has a chance to have the ban reduced.

Veteran CB Mo Claiborne, one of the top unsigned players, is facing a 4-game suspension for violations of the substance abuse policy, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. He’s appealing and it could be reduced. This would explain why a player as proven as he is would remain a FA.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 2, 2019

Claiborne, 29, is a former No. 6 overall pick who has had some solid seasons in the NFL. He spent the first six years of his career with the Dallas Cowboys before playing two seasons with the New York Jets, and there’s no questioning how much he loves football given some of the remarks he has made in the past.

Whether the suspension is upheld or not, it would be a surprise if Claiborne doesn’t wind up on a roster at some point this season. Solid cornerbacks are tough to find.

Each NFL team’s best defensive player so far

Through the first six weeks of the NFL season, several popular names still lead the fray when it comes to defensive production. However, key injuries to superstars like J.J. Watt have created a void that has been filled by some surprising players, many of whom are having career years.

Here’s a look at each NFL team’s best defensive player so far in 2017.

Arizona Cardinals — Tyvon Branch, S

There are a lot of talented defenders on Arizona’s roster, but through six weeks, it’s hard to argue that Tyvon Branch — who has been called a “wolverine” complement to the “honey badger” — isn’t the very best. He not only leads the team and is tied for the league lead with 55 tackles, but he’s also defended four passes, forced a fumble and was named to the Pro Football Focus First Quarter All-Pro Team. Branch getting the nod says a lot about his impact this season when you consider Arizona also has Chandler Jones and his six sacks.

Atlanta Falcons — Deion Jones, LB

Deion Jones has filled out the box score this year, leading the Falcons with 38 tackles. He’s also recorded a sack, three passes defended and an interception. Jones is also among Pro Football Focus’ top 15 graded linebackers this season, alongside teammate De’Vondre Campbell, who has also landed very high grades for Atlanta. Jones is blossoming well for Atlanta in his second NFL season.

(more…)

Morris Claiborne: I would keep playing if doctors said I could die

New York Jets rookie Jamal Adams made some alarming comments on Monday when he said he believes the football field would be the perfect place to die, but he is clearly not alone in that line of thinking.

Morris Claiborne, a veteran defensive back who signed with the Jets this offseason, discussed the risk of CTE and head injuries with Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Not only is he willing to die playing football, but Claiborne says he would keep playing if a doctor told him the risk of death was imminent.

“A lot of people don’t believe me when I say this, but I would die out there on that football field,” Claiborne said. “This is my life. This is what I do. I give it all. I would die out there.

“If I was concussed that bad where they said you can’t go back out there or you’ll potentially lose your life, I gotta go. I gotta go play. I gotta go play.”

Plenty of players have admitted to hiding concussion symptoms from team doctors, but Claiborne’s thoughts go beyond that. The same is true for what Adams said before him.

“Literally, if I had a perfect place to die,” the firs-year safety told reporters. “I would die on the field.”

Claiborne has been diagnosed with three concussions since college, but he clearly isn’t concerned. The 27-year-old acknowledges that his mother, fiancee and 7-year-old son would probably want him to stop playing if doctors said he was risking his life.

“They don’t feel the way I feel about this game,” Claiborne said. “If anybody can go through some of the things that I went through and still push on, you ain’t gonna let nothing stop you. So, I’m not going to let nothing stop me. Nothing at all.”

While Claiborne’s view on playing football sounds extreme, it’s that mentality that keeps football on top of the American sports pyramid. Some of the best players in the game have shared similar sentiments, and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

Morris Claiborne angrily stormed out of Cowboys facility after demotion

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne returned to the team’s facility on Wednesday morning after he angrily stormed out of practice the day before. Claiborne abruptly left the Cowboys’ Valley Ranch training facility on Tuesday after he was informed that he is losing his starting job.

Claiborne, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 draft, has been exposed by opposing offenses through the first three weeks of the season. Pro Football Focus ranks him 91st in coverage out of 93 cornerbacks who have played at least 25% of their team’s snaps. The former LSU star is one of only three corners to allow three or more touchdowns.

Claiborne had been filling in as a starter for Orlando Scandrick, who was suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the league’s drug policy. He allowed five receptions for 108 yards and a 51-yard touchdown against the St. Louis Rams, prompting owner Jerry Jones to express disappointment in a player he moved up the board to draft.

“Is he what we had hoped for at this point when we drafted him with the sixth overall pick, giving up the [second-round] pick to go up to the sixth pick to get him? No,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan Tuesday, via Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPNDallas.com. “But he’s going to be a good player.”

After the Cowboys erased a 21-0 deficit on Sunday, Claiborne stepped up in a big way. He pressured Rams quarterback Austin Davis into an incompletion with a corner blitz on the Rams’ final drive and made a game-clinching interception two plays later. Despite that, Claiborne was critical of himself after the game and admitted he “stunk it up.”

Scandrick took Claiborne’s job last season and likely would have been the starter if he wasn’t suspended. Had Claiborne played well, he would have been able to keep the job. He’s still going to see plenty of action, but throwing a fit and storming away from the team isn’t the way to make a statement.

Morris Claiborne supposedly bought his parents this Cowboys-themed car (Picture)

Morris Claiborne was one of the reasons the Cowboys surprised the defending Super Bowl champs on Wednesday night, as he helped shut down New York’s talented receiving duo of Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. The No. 6 overall pick is expected to be one of the keys to an improved Dallas defense this season, but we may not have expected him to give his parents the keys to a sweet Dodge Challenger with a Cowboys paint job.

According to Busted Coverage, the photo you see above was sent in by someone who lives in Claiborne’s hometown of Shreveport, La. We tend to believe Claiborne bought the car for his parents, because it’s either that or there is someone out there who is just way too big of a Claiborne fan.

For those of you are thinking this is how NFL rookies wind up filing for bankruptcy, the former LSU standout can spare it. Challengers aren’t all that expensive, and his rookie deal is worth a modest $16.26 million. When he gets into Floyd Mayweather territory and starts buying cars like this one, then we can start making fun of him.

Morris Claiborne says he blew off part of the Wonderlic test

Morris Claiborne was heavily ridiculed for recording one of the lowest Wonderlic test scores in memory — a 4 out of 50 — and said on Thursday he blew off parts of the test.

Claiborne, who was drafted sixth overall by the Cowboys, told the media he had problems with the test and didn’t work through certain areas because he didn’t believe it was pertinent to football.

“I’m human. I had a problem with some of it. I didn’t let it get me down. I knew it didn’t reflect on how I learn or what type of person I am. I looked at the test, and there wasn’t any questions that came with football. Some of the questions were not about football, so I pretty much blew it off.

“All the talk that I was hearing about the Wonderlic is that it’s just not that important,” he said. “Everybody I talked to, even coaches and all, they were like, ‘That test doesn’t mean nothing. That test is not going to declare where you go in the draft or nothing like that. So if they don’t have any football on there, I’m here for football, so what?”

It was reported that Claiborne had a learning disability and that was part of the reason why he scored so poorly. Claiborne’s comments reflect that possibility. He was also right; the score didn’t keep him from being drafted highly.

It’s too bad Claiborne’s score was leaked, but he’ll have a chance to erase that memory if he plays well for Dallas.

Photo Credit: James Lang-US PRESSWIRE