Morris Claiborne was in the middle of a walkthrough practice last summer when he got the call 鈥?finally 鈥?that he was eagerly anticipating.

It was time for his twin daughters to enter the world.

A New York Jets trainer had the cornerback's cellphone and was tasked with letting him know if and when Claiborne's now-wife Jennifer was heading to the hospital.

"I remember I saw the trainer walking on the field and he gave me Cheap Brian Allen Jersey , like, a look," Claiborne recalled in an interview with The Associated Press at the family's home. "I just ran. I took off running. I grabbed my phone from him and I went to Coach (Todd) Bowles and I was like, 'Coach, it's time,' and he was like, 'All right, congratulations.'

"And I remember just running out of the building and running to the hospital, and when I got up there I just looked at her."

It was July 30, 2017, and Jennifer was 35 weeks along 鈥?two weeks before her scheduled cesarean section. But her water broke while she was watching the couple's two English Bulldogs outside their home. She had to immediately head to Morristown Medical Center, about 2 1/2 miles away.

Meanwhile, Morris zipped from the Jets' training facility in Florham Park to the hospital just over 3 miles away in time to be there to welcome his daughters.

"He came and it all happened within the hour," Jennifer recalled. "It happened so fast, it was scary."

Doctors performed the C-section and first delivered Ma'Kaila, who was quite underweight at 3 pounds, 8 ounces.

Ma'Liah came a few moments later, weighing in at a more robust 4 pounds, 13 ounces.

Ma'Kaila was immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, separated from her sister 鈥?and mother 鈥?for the first time.

"I was asking http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dj-moore-jersey , 'Is everything OK?'" Morris said. "They were like, 'She's good. Everything's good. It's just that she's underweight 鈥?too underweight.' They wanted to take her back and start feeding her and try to get her to gain some weight."

Ma'Kaila stayed in the NICU for the next two weeks, working up the strength to be sent home to her parents and sister.


Jets' Morris Claiborne is a happy father after his newborn twins gave him a scare last summer.

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鈥?AP NFL (@AP_NFL) June 17, 2018

For Morris, who was entering his first season with the Jets on a one-year, prove-it deal after four years with the Cowboys, it was a whirlwind of anxiety and excitement.

Somehow, he needed to keep his mind focused on football, while also wanting to make sure his wife and daughters had everything they needed while he was working.

"Oh, man," he said, shaking his head. "We'd have meetings early in the morning and we had to stay over at the (players') hotel, but Coach was giving me a little time to come here and stay with (Jennifer and Ma'Liah) instead of going to the hotel. I'd come (home) after meetings. We'd get done around 11 or so and I'd come here, check on her and make sure everything's OK with her and then I'd head up to the hotel for curfew and we'd FaceTime all night."

Claiborne's coaches and teammates never knew of the hectic routine he was keeping throughout the summer.

Playbooks and Pampers.

Meetings and feedings.

Football and baby blankets.

"I don't care if it was 10 minutes, I live so close to the facility that I was running home every single break to check on them and see if everything's OK and then I'd get back to my job," he said. "It was like that for a while, for the whole training camp. ... It was chaos, but it was fun."

Claiborne was in for the biggest surprise of all on Aug. 15 when he arrived home during a short break.

"I was like, 'Babe, come here http://www.giantsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-will-hernandez-jersey , look,'" Jennifer called out to him. "I was like, 'Can you watch her real fast?' And I was speaking of Ma'Liah."

But she had brought Ma'Kaila home from the hospital earlier in the day and had both girls in the bed, laying them beside her with a video camera set on record to capture the moment.

"I wasn't expecting to see both of them at all," a wide-eyed Claiborne recalled. "I wasn't ready for it at all. When I walked in, I was so used to seeing her (Ma'Liah) in the bed when I'd come in, and when I saw both of them laying there, my heart just dropped.

"I was like, 'Oh, my God.' It really hit me: We've got twins at the house. This is real now."

Ma'Liah and Ma'Kaila are now 10 1/2 months old, healthy and full of personality.

Ma'Liah, according to Jennifer, is the more demanding of the two, and "she's a Daddy's girl." Ma'Kaila is still slightly smaller than her sister, but is more independent 鈥?moving around on her own, playing and feeding herself.

"It gave me a sense of what I'm really playing football for, what I'm really doing it for," said the 28-year-old Claiborne, who re-signed with the Jets on another one-year deal in the offseason. "It's for my family and bringing these two precious little babies into the world, it opened my eyes to a much bigger picture.

"I've really learned that it's not about yourself. Once you have kids Authentic Mark Andrews Jersey , it's about the kids, but I think I got a re-understanding of that once these two babies were born. I enjoy every moment of it."

The family was planning to fly to its home in Dallas over the weekend to join Claiborne's son Morris, who turns 9 in November, and daughter Madicyn, who's 3, for a special Father's Day.

"Having these girls made me understand that I really missed some valuable time with my son, but I was off in college (at LSU) and there was nothing I could really do about that," Claiborne said. "My mindset was on making a way to feed him at that time. Just having them made me realize how much time at this age that I really missed that I would've loved to be there.

"I missed t The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will open the season without quarterback Jameis Winston, who has been suspended three games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Winston said in a statement released on Facebook that the NFL informed him of their decision on Thursday. The discipline stems from the league's investigation of an accusation that the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner groped a female Uber driver during a ride the quarterback took in Arizona, where Winston was attending a charity event in March 2016.

The driver did not file a criminal or civil complaint, however she reported the incident to Uber. The NFL learned of the allegation, when it was reported publicly last November.

"The league promptly initiated a comprehensive investigation that included interviews with several persons, including the driver, Winston and others with relevant information," the NFL said in a statement announcing the suspension. "The league also examined an extensive amount of other evidence, including telephone records, business records, data from electronic devices and other communications."

The Bucs drafted Winston No. 1 overall in 2015, despite questions about the young quarterback's behavior during his college career at Florida State.

Winston, 24 Authentic Olivier Rodrigue Jersey , was accused of raping a fellow student at FSU, but was never charged. The university settled a Title IX lawsuit over its handling of the allegations with Winston's accuser, Erica Kinsman, in January 2016 for $1.7 million.

Winston said in his statement Thursday that "in the past 2陆 years my life has been filled with experiences, opportunities and events that have helped me grow, mature and learn." Winston added that he has eliminated alcohol from his life.

Winston, who's thrown for 11,636 yards and 69 touchdowns in three NFL seasons, has started 45 of the Bucs' past 48 games. He missed three games last season with a shoulder injury and the Bucs finished 5-11, missing the playoffs for the 10th straight season.

He will miss the Bucs' season opener at New Orleans on Sept. 9, as well as homes games against defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He will be eligible to return to the team on Sept. 25, the day after Tampa Bay plays the Steelers.

The league said Winston is also required to have a clinical evaluation and cooperate in any recommended program of therapeutic intervention.

"All members of our organization are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the personal conduct policy of the NFL," the Bucs said in a statement. "We are disappointed that Jameis put himself in a position that has been found to violate the policy and accept today's decision by the commissioner."

The suspension will cost Winston $124,411 of his base salary of $705,000 for the upcoming season. The quarterback is set to earn $20.9 million in 2019.
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