Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback looks to be getting one more chance. The Steelers report to training camp today and there’s been no news out of Pittsburgh that Burns won’t be joining them.
Once Burns reports to camp, he will be paid an $800,000 roster bonus which would fully guarantee his $957,862 2019 salary on the third day. There had been a thought the Steelers might choose to release Burns to avoid paying the bonus after signing Steven Nelson as a free agent and drafting Justin Layne in the third round of the NFL draft.
The Steelers selected Burns in the first round of the 2016 draft, breaking a 19-year streak of not drafting a cornerback in the first round. He flashed some skills early in his career but took a big step backward in 2018. So much so he was benched in favor of Coty Sensabaugh.
With the moves the Steelers made this offseason, expectations aren’t very high for Burns. He’s going to be battling Layne for reps as a backup boundary cornerback.
Honestly, the financial risk is minimal so keeping Burns with the rest of the guys on the roster isn’t too risky for the Steelers. Burns is set to hit free agency at the end of the season so he’s got everything to play for.
