Morgan Burnett adds another name to the free agent safety market
By Matt Conner
The Pittsburgh Steelers will reportedly release Morgan Burnett in the next few days to satisfy his desire to be on the open market again.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly days away from satisfying the wishes of veteran safety Morgan Burnett by granting him his release from the team, a move that would make him a free agent once again—just one year after hitting the open market.
Adam Schefter has word that Burnett’s release is expected to come by April 1 which will enhance the safety market a bit for teams still searching for answers.
Right now, the safety market is hardly as saturated as it once was given that stars like Tyrann Mathieu and Earl Thomas have signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens respectively. Several players have found new homes, but that doesn’t mean that many more are hoping to round out their rosters with safety additions.
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The Chiefs are one such team given that they were rumored to be the destination for Thomas until Baltimore swept in with a four-year deal worth $55 million. The Chiefs have released Eric Berry this offseason and signed Mathieu, which leaves them with a potential opening—likely at free safety although Mathieu’s versatility helps their roster flexibility.
At this point, K.C. has Dan Sorensen, Eric Murray and Jordan Lucas on the roster with Mathieu. Adding a league-average player simply doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and many of the options on the open market are difficult to picture as upgrades on the younger guys already on the roster. Glover Quin, Tre Boston, George Iloka, and Jonathan Cyprien are a few of the most familiar safeties still available.
Burnett is certainly a bigger name among the lot and should garner some visits, to be sure, but the willingness of Pittsburgh to simply let him walk means they don’t plan on missing him too much. It also doesn’t help Burnett’s status with the team that Pittsburgh just added Mark Barron to the mix (who joins former Chiefs corner Steven Nelson as newcomers to the defense).
After seven years as a starting safety for the Green Bay Packers, Burnett was relegated to rotational player in Pittsburgh with only 2 starts in 11 games. Burnett, who recently turned 30-years-old, had 30 tackles and 6 passes defended last year for the Steelers.