The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed former Green Bay Packers safety Morgan Burnett to a three-year deal. Ian Rapoport shared the news of the signing on Twitter.
The #Steelers and former #Packers S Morgan Burnett, agreed to terms on 3-year deal worth close to $14.5M, source says. Finally a top safety off the board.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 20, 2018
Burnett was one of the top safeties on the market. He brings valuable experience to a Steelers defense that needed to fill a hole after releasing safety Mike Mitchell. Burnett will pair with Joe Harden to give veteran leadership to the Steelers secondary.
Burnett was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Packers. There, Burnett started 102 games for the organization. The starts have not been consecutive and he has dealt with some minor injuries. Burnett has not played a complete season since 2012.
Burnett is not the kind of player to make major plays. He has just nine interceptions during his tenure in the NFL. However, this does not mean that Burnett is a bad player. Burnett will still be able to contribute in a big way and provide valuable veteran experience.
The safety position is not the only position the Steelers need help filling this offseason. The loss of linebacker Ryan Shazier to a spinal injury means that someone will have to step up and become the leader of the defense.
It has been a pretty slow offseason for the Steelers. They have not addressed many of the positions that need filling and once again have not been able to come to a long-term agreement with running back LeVeon Bell. If the Steelers want to remain has year-to-year Super Bowl contenders, they will need to make a full commitment at running back and spend a bit of cash in free agency.
