Cleveland Browns: 3 Players needing to bounce back in 2019
By Randy Gurzi
2. Morgan Burnett, Strong Safety
After eight seasons, seven of which he as a full-time starter, with the Green Bay Packers, safety Morgan Burnett left in free agency and joined the Pittsburgh Steelers. In need of some stability at the position, Pittsburgh gave Burnett a three-year contract worth $14.35 million.
Unfortunately for Burnett, he simply wasn’t a great fit with them. After starting 102 of 102 games for Green Bay, the veteran ended up starting just two of 11 games with the Steelers. He finished with 30 tackles — which was his lowest total since his rookie campaign in 2010 when he played just four games.
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Pittsburgh ended up releasing him after just one season and four days after being let go, he joined the Cleveland Browns. Here, he will be reunited with a former teammate in Damarious Randall who will line up opposite Burnett at free safety.
The hope will be that a fresh start will be beneficial for the 30-year old, and the Browns need this as much as he does. In their trade for Odell Beckham, Jr., Cleveland surrendered safety Jabrill Peppers who had started to come on as a strong safety for them.
They also released Derrick Kindred, which left them thin outside of Randall at safety with Eric Murray being the only other player with legitimate experience. Cleveland hopes that Sheldrick Redwine, a fourth-round pick out of Miami, can also be in the mix but it will take some time for him to be ready. That’s why Burnett and his potential to bounce back is so important to the team.