Cornerback Morris Claiborne entered the league five years ago as the sixth overall pick in the draft. His time in Dallas was largely a disappointment, largely due to the fact that he was unable to play far too often due to injury.
Now a Jet, Claiborne believes he can be successful. Highly successful. Extraordinarily successful.
“I feel like I can be the No. 1 corner in this league if I’m healthy . . . when I’m healthy,’’ Claiborne recently told Mark Cannizzarro of the New York Post. “When I’m out there playing and I’m healthy and I’m on my game, I don’t feel like there is anybody better than me.’’
The problem is that he hasn’t been healthy, missing 33 of 80 regular-season games -- one more than two full seasons of the five he has been in the league.
“When I was young, I felt like I had everything in front of me,’’ Claiborne said. “I felt like nothing can stop me. I was going to go do whatever it takes to succeed and be a Pro Bowl player that first year with the Cowboys. But, God had other plans for me, and I ended up taking a different route than most guys do.
“I don’t care where my career has been, I will never quit, I will never stop.’’
He knows that he needs to not stop playing in order to get what he wants.
"[T]hat’s the No. 1 goal,’' Claiborne said. “Everything else comes after that. . . . Because when you’re on the field you can make those plays. But when you’re not, you have zero chance.’'
Whether Claiborne can make plays for th eJets remains to be seen, as does whether he can stay on the field. It’s easy for a body to feel good in May. Once the regular-season rolls around, and the bumps and bruises pile up before existing ones can heal, it becomes a problem.