Burnett’s injuries part of trend
The Steelers signed Morgan Burnett in March because they wanted the veteran safety to stabilize the back end of their secondary. Burnett’s experience, size and tackling ability were reasons the Steelers targeted him. They believed he would help a young defense that allowed too many big plays because of communication and tackling issues.
Those plans were shelved for the first six games of the season because Burnett has been dealing with injuries. He has been bothered by two separate injuries this year, which has forced the Steelers to speed up the development of several young defensive backs, most notably rookie first-round pick Terrell Edmunds, who has started the past four games at strong safety in place of Burnett.
“I think he’ll be an impact player when he gets healthy, but obviously that’s not our decision,” defensive backs coach Tom Bradley said this week. “That’s up to the medical staff.”
Burnett did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday during the off week. The players don’t return to work until Monday. Burnett did some drills with team trainer John Norwig on Wednesday, but he said there is no timetable for his return from a groin injury that has kept him out since Week 3. When he was asked Wednesday if a procedure would be required to repair his groin, he said: “I just take it day by day. I don’t know what’s in the future for me.”
Burnett missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury. He returned to the lineup in time to play in the first two games, but the groin injury suffered against Kansas City in Week 2 has kept him out of the lineup since.
Burnett’s injury problem should not come as a surprise to the Steelers — not if they did their homework before they signed him to a threeyear, $14.3 million contract. Burnett’s has a long injury history and he’s had a particularly tough time dealing with groin and hamstring injuries.
This is the fourth consecutive year Burnett has missed games due to soft tissue injuries and the third consecutive season he has missed games due to a groin injury.
A troubling pattern has surfaced the past two years when a hamstring injury has been followed quickly by a groin injury. Last year, when Burnett played for the Packers, he missed two games in October because of a hamstring injury. He returned to play in a November game against the Lions, but he injured his groin and missed the next two games.
In 2015, a calf injury kept Burnett out for five games, and he has missed 28 games due to injuries since entering the NFL in 2010.
“Any time you have an injury you want to get back as soon as possible, but sometimes your body has a mind of its own,” Burnett said. “I’m confident in what I can do as a player. As a competitor you want to be out there competing.”
Unfortunately for the Steelers, this has been a common storyline with many of their free agent acquisitions in recent years.
In 2016, the Steelers signed tight end Ladarius Green to a four-year, $20 million contract that included a $4.75 million signing bonus. He played in six games for the Steelers before a concussion ended his career. The Steelers paid him more than $6 million.
Green’s injury history was not fully investigated, a source told Ed Bouchette of the Post-Gazette in 2016 when it became known headaches were the reason Green landed on the physically-unable-toperform list before his first and only training camp with the Steelers. Green told reporters during his introductory news conference that he missed games with the Chargers due to “sinus problems,” not concussions. Eight months later, a concussion that came as a result of a hit in a game in Cincinnati ended his season and career.
The decision to sign Green will always be second-guessed because the Steelers missed out on signing other players who could have helped them. One of them, coincidentally, is a safety who made the Pro Bowl last year.
The Steelers also targeted former Chargers safety Eric Weddle during the same free agency period in 2016. He signed for $26 million over four years with Baltimore and has not missed a game since signing, a string of 38 consecutive games. Weddle is an integral part of the best defense in the NFL this season.
In 2014, the Steelers signed safety Mike Mitchell to a fiveyear, $25 million contract. Injuries dogged him throughout his tenure with the team. He didn’t miss a game during his first three seasons with the team, but he played through a number of injuries and had to have surgery to repair two torn groins in the winter of 2015, one year after signing his contract.
Mitchell missed three games with an ankle injury last season before the Steelers released him last spring with one year left on his contract because the cumulative effect of his previous injuries took a toll on his performance .
The Steelers signed Burnett to replace him, and they are hoping he can get healthy for the second half. If he can return, the Steelers believe he will be able to help. They enter their off week ranked 22nd in the NFL in total defense (380 yards per game) and scoring defense (25.7 points per game).
“Morgan gives us a chance to get a bigger body in there to body up on some of those tight ends and do a better job at the line of scrimmage,” Bradley said. “Plus, Morgan can play a lot of different positions for us and gives us versatility because of all the different things he can do.”
If Burnett doesn’t return or is reinjured, the Steelers will be forced to play a rookie for the remainder of the season, and their record in free agency will continue to be scrutinized.