Secondary is Burnett’s main goal
Cut by Eskimos, defensive back ready to battle for coveted role with Stamps
A sure sign that the page is flipped, that the Green and Gold are a distant memory, is strapped onto Joe Burnett’s right wrist.
A bright red watch, which happens to be a perfect colour match for his new work shirt, No. 34 of the Calgary Stampeders.
He even wore it during Tuesday morning’s session — Day 3 of camp — at McMahon Stadium.
But don’t read too much into the timepiece’s appearance. It’s no statement. “I just forgot to take it off,” said Burnett, shrugging and grinning.
Nevertheless consider ties to his former employers to be severed — completely. On April 2, the Edmonton Eskimos announced the release of Burnett, one of their veteran defensive backs.
Hours later — before he was forced to endure even a single sleepless night pondering his football future — the phone was ringing at his Eustis, Fla., home. The Grey Cup champs were on the line, expressing their keen interest in his ball hawking services.
“Once they called me, that’s where I knew I wanted to be,” said Burnett, 28. “I didn’t even give myself a chance to open the gates, open the doors, for any other team. We got the deal done.
“For me, easy decision. I look at these guys as first- class guys … who take their business seriously, as it should be.”
And the Stamps players have welcomed Burnett. Even with the taint of the northern nemeses upon him, he’s at home here.
“They embraced me,” Burnett said. “It’s an easy moving process because the guys are willing to work. The guys here are professional athletes. They take it as, ‘ He’s the next guy in, so it’s all hands in the pile, let’s go to work.’
“These guys are veterans. They just won the Grey Cup. They understand that every little thing counts, every little thing helps, to go out and do the same thing as they did last year.”
Now all Burnett has to do is crack the club. No easy feat, that. Not with West Division all- stars — Fred Bennett, Brandon Smith, Jamar Wall — dotting the local secondary.
“Huge challenge,” said the fivefoot- 10, 192- pound Burnett, “because each one of these guys is capable of being a CFL all- star, from the boundary corner to the field corner.
“I’m here just to help wherever I can and learn and grow from the guys that have been doing it. They set the standard, they set the bar, being the champions of 2014.”
Don’t bet against Burnett, who’s proven to be a quick study everywhere his football career has taken him:
Joining the University of Central Florida, Burnett was a first- team freshman, according to nearly everyone — College Football News. com, Rivals. com, Conference USA, Football Writers Association of America.
He jumped directly from college into the 2009 lineup of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who, only months earlier, had nabbed him in the fifth round, 168th overall, of the National Football League draft. He suited up 15 times as a rookie.
Burnett — cut by the Steelers, then by the New York Giants — signed with the Eskimos prior to the 2012 campaign.
Immediately? In his rookie season?
He paced the CFL with six interceptions and ended up being an all- star.
“The adjustment for me ... going out, letting everything go, and just playing football,” said Burnett. “You had to learn quick.”
In Edmonton last year, however, he ripped up a hip hamstring in an early- season mishap in practice.
He tried to return — too soon — and did more damage, limiting him to only five appearances in 2014.
Burnett spent the winter at home in Florida, rehabilitating his leg at his alma mater and enjoying time with his family, which includes his young son Jace.
“I stayed with him,” said Burnett, “because I know once you leave, it’s a tough situation being ( away for) six months, being a whole country away from seeing him. FaceTime is all I do now.”
Well, that and two- a- days at McMahon Stadium.
Dad is kept busy getting accustomed to his surroundings, formerly hostile territory, and studying the latest playbook.
“Camp’s going pretty good,” said Burnett. “A big learning curve for me — everything is new as far as the system. But I like the speed of camp. That’s the most important thing. We’re all flying around. Even though we may be making mistakes, we’re still flying around, getting the things done that we need to get done.”