Might be good former first round pick and starter:
Free-agent cornerback Artie Burns has agreed to a deal with the Chicago Bears.
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Burns' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed his client will sign a one-year contract.
Burns became a free agent after spending the past four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They declined the fifth-year option on his rookie contract in May 2019.
Chicago will give Burns a fresh start after a disappointing stint with the Steelers.
In March 2019, according to ProFootballTalk's Charean Williiams, head coach Mike Tomlin admitted he was disappointed in Burns, while general manager Kevin Colbert suggested at the time the former first-round pick has lost his confidence.
LINK Burns was a first-round pick out of the University of Miami in 2016, selected No. 25 overall by the Steelers. But he never became the impact playmaker the Steelers hoped. The organization did not pick up his fifth-year option last year and Burns fell deeper into a reserve role. Over four seasons in Pittsburgh, Burns started 32 of the 58 games he played in. He recorded three interceptions as a rookie but only one more over the following three seasons. Burns has intriguing length and speed and offers a skillset that could allow him to replace Prince Amukamara as a reliable man-to-man cover corner. But he will certainly have to earn that role whenever the Bears are cleared to get back on the practice field.
Post by butkus3595 on Mar 21, 2020 15:14:43 GMT -6
I like the signing. Has pedigree, can be put into the mix and at worse is good depth. I think you're starting to see the strategy from a defensive standpoint here. Pace and Co didn't feel like there was secondary help in free agency and didn't want to/couldn't overpay...so what do you do to help your secondary? Improve the pass rush. So you sign a big time pass rusher and hope a guy like Burns can be competent. It's not sexy, but you'd have to not understand how a salary cap works if you thought the Bears were signing a bunch of big name free agents this off season.
Artie Burns Has One of the Most Inspiring Stories You’ll Ever Hear By Erik Lambert - March 21st, 2020
The Chicago Bears made their latest move of NFL free agency on Saturday when they signed cornerback Artie Burns. Formerly the 25th pick of the 2016 draft, he spent four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. During that time he experienced some early success before finding his job taken away by others on the depth chart. Towards the end in 2019 he was barely playing, his confidence shaken. It was clear he needed a fresh start.
What’s so unfortunate from his perspective is it wasn’t supposed to go like that. He had a plan in mind when it came to his football career. Sadly, real life forced that plan to change. Despite warning from several experts that he wasn’t ready despite a promising 2015 season for Miami, he decided to go pro. Not because he was overconfident but because he had no choice.