Belichick Has Kind Words For Patriots’ Clayborn

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5 years ago at 5:00 am ET

Dick Raphael - USA TODAY Sports

With Raymond Clayborn set to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday night, Bill Belichick was asked on Thursday about the former New England defensive back finally earning the honor of having his name added to the Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon.

Clayborn’s induction ceremony is set to be held just outside on the NRG Plaza and will begin shortly after the end of practice that morning.

Belichick reflected on Clayborn as a player, as well as what it was like to match up against him.

“Yeah, really good,” said Belichick of Clayborn. “The Patriots had a lot of great players in that day. I coached against them when I was at the Giants. They were a hard team to defend. Coach [Chuck] Fairbanks and his staff – and Ernie [Adams] and I have talked about it a lot – there was a lot of talent here, a lot of great players.”

He also pointed out that he had Clayborn at the end of his career while Belichick was the head coach in Cleveland, but that didn’t change his opinion of him as a talented player, or as a consummate professional.

“You know, I had Clayborn for a year when I was in Cleveland, obviously at the end of his career,” said Belichick. “But, great person, very professional, a good corner. Again, corners had a lot – formations weren’t as spread out, so they were involved more in run force tackling than at times they are, not that they’re not involved, but that was, I’d say, much higher. It was more prevalent then. But, yeah, good all-around player, could run, tackle, athletic, make great plays on the ball – good football player.”

The good news is The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is free and open to the public. So if you’re on hand Saturday after training camp, don’t miss the opportunity to witness a small bit of history.