DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns Sign S Morgan Burnett

Courtesy NFL Network ...

Hopefully he's healthy now.

Any word on the money yet? All I've seen is 2 years.

By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns have looked to a former Packer again for safety help and to the failed AAF for a backup quarterback.

They signed former Packers and Steelers safety Morgan Burnett and former AAF quarterback Garrett Gilbert on Friday, the club announced.

Burnett, 30, was released by the Steelers Monday after one season, a few months after he asked to be let go. Burnett told NFL Network he wanted out because he played out of position as a dime linebacker. Specifically, he said he “wants a new start (and) a chance to play safety again.”


In Cleveland, where he signed a two-year contract, he’ll not only have that, but a chance to win a starting job. Burnett joins Eric Murray, acquired in a trade with the Chiefs for Emmanuel Ogbah, in the competition at strong safety. If he wins the job, he’ll play opposite free safety Damarious Randall, his former Packers teammate.

After signing a three-year, $14.35 million free agent deal with the Steelers last offseason, Burnett lost the starting strong safety job in camp to No. 28 overall pick Terrell Edmunds.

Burnett also suffered a groin injury and played in only 11 games last season. He made 30 tackles and broke up six passes.

According to profootballfocus.com, Burnett played only 142 snaps at safety last season and 248 as an inside linebacker. Overall, he played in only 37.2 percent of the Steelers’ snaps. In Cleveland, he’ll be reunited with former Packers personnel executives John Dorsey, Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith.

The Browns have needed a strong safety since they traded Jabrill Peppers to the Giants last month. They also released backup safety Derrick Kindred.

Burnett was originally a third-round pick of the Packers in 2010 out of Georgia Tech. He spent his first eight seasons in Green Bay before the Steelers signed him as an unrestricted free agent before last season.


Gilbert, 27, played for the Orlando Apollos of the defunct Alliance of American Football, which folded this week. He was regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the developmental league, throwing for a league-high 2,152 yards and 13 touchdowns, and completing 60.6 percent of his attempts. He led the Apollos to a league-best 7-1 mark.

Gilbert (6-4, 219) was drafted by the Rams in the sixth-round of the 2014 draft out of SMU. He attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, same as Baker Mayfield. Mr. Texas Football in 2008, he began his college career at Texas, and transferred to SMU in 2012.

For now, Gilbert will be the third quarterback behind Mayfield and Drew Stanton.

Gilbert has also spent time with the Patriots, Lions, Raiders and Panthers, but he’s completed only two of three NFL attempts for 40 yards.

Gilbert told WFNZ’s Wilson and Parcell in February that he was joining the AAF to see where it leads.

"I think that's one of the great things about this league is the fact that it's been presented and promoted as sort of a complimentary league," said Gilbert. "We're not trying to compete with the NFL. You've seen guys like Josh Johnson go from being the No. 1 draft pick in the Alliance to two weeks later starting for the (Washington) Redskins. And then even personally with my situation being able to go jump back to Carolina for Week 17 and then hop right back into training camp.


“Those type of things are certainly things that I think are really helping this league. Because I think it’s growing some talent, guys who maybe have slipped through the cracks for whatever reason. But I am not treating every day, every practice, every game like an audition. My job is just to come out here and be the best quarterback I can, and let the chips fall where they may.”

Very Interesting.

Browns sign safety Morgan Burnett and AAF QB Garrett Gilbert

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns have looked to a former Packer again for safety help and to the failed AAF for a backup quarterback.

They signed former Packers and Steelers safety Morgan Burnett and former AAF quarterback Garrett Gilbert on Friday, the club announced.

Burnett, 30, was released by the Steelers Monday after one season, a few months after he asked to be let go. Burnett told NFL Network he wanted out because he played out of position as a dime linebacker. Specifically, he said he “wants a new start (and) a chance to play safety again.”

In Cleveland, where he signed a two-year contract, he’ll not only have that, but a chance to win a starting job. Burnett joins Eric Murray, acquired in a trade with the Chiefs for Emmanuel Ogbah, in the competition at strong safety. If he wins the job, he’ll play opposite free safety Damarious Randall, his former Packers teammate.

After signing a three-year, $14.35 million free agent deal with the Steelers last offseason, Burnett lost the starting strong safety job in camp to No. 28 overall pick Terrell Edmunds.

Burnett also suffered a groin injury and played in only 11 games last season. He made 30 tackles and broke up six passes.

According to profootballfocus.com, Burnett played only 142 snaps at safety last season and 248 as an inside linebacker. Overall, he played in only 37.2 percent of the Steelers’ snaps. In Cleveland, he’ll be reunited with former Packers personnel executives John Dorsey, Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith.

The Browns have needed a strong safety since they traded Jabrill Peppers to the Giants last month. They also released backup safety Derrick Kindred.

Burnett was originally a third-round pick of the Packers in 2010 out of Georgia Tech. He spent his first eight seasons in Green Bay before the Steelers signed him as an unrestricted free agent before last season.

Gilbert, 27, played for the Orlando Apollos of the defunct Alliance of American Football, which folded this week. He was regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the developmental league, throwing for a league-high 2,152 yards and 13 touchdowns, and completing 60.6 percent of his attempts. He led the Apollos to a league-best 7-1 mark.

Gilbert (6-4, 219) was drafted by the Rams in the sixth-round of the 2014 draft out of SMU. He attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, same as Baker Mayfield. Mr. Texas Football in 2008, he began his college career at Texas, and transferred to SMU in 2012.

For now, Gilbert will be the third quarterback behind Mayfield and Drew Stanton.

Gilbert has also spent time with the Patriots, Lions, Raiders and Panthers, but he’s completed only two of three NFL attempts for 40 yards.

Gilbert told WFNZ’s Wilson and Parcell in February that he was joining the AAF to see where it leads.

"I think that's one of the great things about this league is the fact that it's been presented and promoted as sort of a complimentary league," said Gilbert. "We're not trying to compete with the NFL. You've seen guys like Josh Johnson go from being the No. 1 draft pick in the Alliance to two weeks later starting for the (Washington) Redskins. And then even personally with my situation being able to go jump back to Carolina for Week 17 and then hop right back into training camp.

“Those type of things are certainly things that I think are really helping this league. Because I think it’s growing some talent, guys who maybe have slipped through the cracks for whatever reason. But I am not treating every day, every practice, every game like an audition. My job is just to come out here and be the best quarterback I can, and let the chips fall where they may.”

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2019/04/browns-plan-to-sign-safety-morgan-burnett-today.html

This sounds very familiar. Dorsey finds a veteran who was played out of position, who turned into be a very solid player for the Browns. Did lightening just strike twice?

Looks like they were forcing Edmunds onto the field and used Burnette wherever they could get him on the field. Which obviously would have made him unhappy since he just signed a 3 year deal to play safety there.

He's okay now. He's not the player he used to be, but he's a decent starter.

He's serviceable, and between him and Murray, they could be a weak link but it's not going to be prohibitively detrimental to the team.

More importantly, Dorsey managed to fill one of the few holes he created with the OBJ trade with two pretty decent, NFL caliber players. He understands how to build a team, and that makes me very, very excited.

That's why I don't feel we can take his time with the Steelers as any indication of his ability to play S. After playing the same position with much success for a long period of time, I don't think we can draw conclusions on a single season where he was forced into playing outside of his natural position.

Did you pay for that MKC story?

Stick another band aid on the secondary...hopefully it will stop the bleeding from the quick slants over the middle this season...

J/C

Another very solid signing by Dorsey. To be able to get a solid veteran at this stage of FA at a position of need. Very good GM work. I don't see how anyone could complain given that we are 3 weeks away from the draft. This doesn't change, in the least, any plans that Dorsey has to address the position in the draft. This is an excellent roster building.

lol Of course not. It wasn't from her twitter account.

Hes a bum.

Now go get Jonathan Abram (Mississippi State) in the draft ...

He went from being the top FA Safety in 2018 to a bum in 2019?!

Not!

Yes. Yes he is. Willitevachange says so.

So it be told. Lol

He is like a 4th ot 5th round prospect ... Aim higher.

Lol. C'mon Dawg.

He'll be gone by 3. Probably before our 2 pick.

Perhaps ... teams reach for players every year.

Burnett doesn't have the upside of Peppers but his play will not be a drop off from Jabrill this season.

Door A:

OBJ, Morgan Burnett, and no first round pick

Door B:

Jabrill Peppers and first round pick

I choose Door A every time.

Which says we're looking to develop some youth we will get from the Draft.

Once you’re past (depending on the draft) say pick 6-10 your bust rate gets significantly higher. Pick 17 is very high bust territory, We basically did the Anti-Julio Jones trade tbh. We traded a mid first round pick (17) another middle to late first round pick (Peppers) and a 3rd for OBJ. We did the exact opposite and ended up with Phil Taylor and Brandon Weeden in a previous iteration of the Browns.

Doesn't bode well for the Giants.

He is either the top rated or 2nd rated S on most draft projections

Bucky Brooks has him going 26th to the Indianapolis Colts ...

Daniel Jeremiah has him #23 in his top 50 ...

Maybe you ought to look a little closer ...

j/c:

I was hoping for Tre Boston, but Dorsey and the GB crew know way more about Burnett than any of us. It's kinda hard to argue w/the moves these guys make given their history of acquiring talent in a multitude of ways.

I really don't know much about Burnett. Does someone have access to his PFF grades when he was with Green Bay? I am not really interested in the Pittsburgh grades because he was out of position, but I'd like to see his GB grades.

I'm not really hype about this signing.. Not gonna get my hopes up likes he's gonna be lights out or something.

I honestly feel like if we draft a SS, Burnett would be on the chopping block. I just think he's on the back half of his career, as in he's only gonna decline as we move forward.

Here is a blurb about Burnett when he was w/the Pack:

Here is another one:

Maybe I don't agree with those talking heads. There is a reason why Daniel Jeremiah is no longer in a teams FO.

Hopefully his time at strictly safety (and when healthy) is going to pay off

Depo does....he must have signed off.

Just kidding my man.

I like having some vets around. Guys who have been around the block a few times and can point a finger and gain attention.

I don't know what kind of leader he is, or can be, but I hope he can and will. We need that in the secondary room.

I think Randall is a strong leader in that group, but I get your point.

According to Cowherd, Dorsey has no plan.

Maybe Cowherd’s right ... some folks are pretty good at just “winging” it .. if KJ has no plan then he’s a HOF “winger” ... *L* ...