Kansas City Chiefs fans saw a limited debut of CB Morris Claiborne in Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts.
It was the first time that Claiborne had played during the regular season, as he was serving a four-game suspension in the weeks prior. Getting out on the field allowed Claiborne to knock some of the rust off. He had not played in a football game since the preseason when he first joined the Chiefs’ roster.
“I felt great,” Claiborne said following the game. “It’s been a long time. Being able to get out there and be with the guys in a game-like atmosphere and cut it loose, it was fun.”
The Chiefs kept Claiborne on a pitch count and he only played 24 snaps during his first game back. This is pretty commonplace for teams easing guys back in after a long absence.
“To my understanding, that is what the plan was,” Claiborne explained. “I don’t believe that they were trying to allow me to get any more than 20 (plays), or something like that. The plan was to just come in, get a couple of series and just put something on film out there.”
During the upcoming contest with the Houston Texans, Claiborne should be primed for a larger share of the snap count. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo even went so far as to suggest a rotation at cornerback between Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward and Claiborne.
“I would think that would be a safe statement,” Spagnuolo said of Claiborne getting more snaps. “I mean that’s hopeful. Probably rotate all three of those guys through there would be the plan.”
Even with a very limited amount of snaps under his belt, Claiborne knew exactly where he wanted to improve heading into Week 6. He already has the benefit of having played with Tyrann Mathieu but he wants to ensure he’s on the same page with his other teammates too.
“I want to make sure that I’m right in my communication and stuff like that,” Claiborne said. “Make sure that with the DBs, I’m crisp. I feel like it could have been way better than it was tonight. You expect some of those things, but my expectations are high. If I just happen to come into a game, I want to come in and we don’t lose anything. I want our communication to be crisp.”
Whether Claiborne gets the start or comes in off the bench, he wants to make sure that he doesn’t miss a beat. That’s a very professional approach and should help the Chiefs become a better and deeper team in the long run.
