He asked for it. He's going to get it.
The Steelers have informed safety Morgan Burnett they will grant him his release according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The decision comes after Burnett had reportedly asked for his release during his exit meeting with Mike Tomlin.
Burnett, signed to a three-year contract last offseason to help replace Mike Mitchell, was scheduled to earn a base salary of $5 million in 2019.
Burnett, 30, never developed into the player the Steelers envisioned when they signed him to a three-year, $14.3-million deal last year. Injuries held him back in training camp and early in the season and by the time he was fully healthy, the Steelers had settled on Sean Davis at free safety and rookie Terrell Edmunds at strong.
That left Burnett playing a linebacker spot in the team's sub packages, a role he informed the team he was not willing to play in 2019. The Steelers signed former safety-turned-linebacker Mark Barron to a two-year, $12-million deal earlier this week to essentially fill that spot, as well as play in the base defense.
Burnett, a former Green Bay Packers starter, played a career-low 390 snaps last season, appearing in 11 games. He had 30 tackles and broke up six passes.
What is not known at this time is if Burnett's release will be designated by the team as post-June 1. If the Steelers release him immediately, Burnett will count $2.8 million against the team's salary cap this year, but with $3.6 million in savings.
If the Steelers release him with a June 1 designation, Burnett's dead cap money would be $1.4 million in 2019 and $1.4 million in 2020, and the Steelers would recognize $5 million in cap savings in 2019.
The Steelers currently have $6.4 million in remaining salary cap space according to the NFLPA website.
LOLLEY'S VIEW
This could mean another move is coming, or the Steelers feel pretty confident they will get a safety in the draft to replace Burnett, because the current roster has only Jordan Dangerfield as a backup to Davis and Edmunds with extensive experience, unless Mike Hilton is added to the mix, as well. Marcus Allen, a fifth-round pick, played just a handful of snaps in his rookie season.
There is still a glut of safeties available on the market, to which Burnett is now added.
The Burnett move made sense a year ago when he was signed. He was a veteran who had played both free and strong safety in addition to filling the dime linebacker role. But the Steelers lost confidence he could play a reasonable number of snaps without getting injured.
He did play better late in the year, but the Steelers feel they have a better version of Burnett in Barron. However, they'll still look to add a player or players to that mix.
Burnett did serve an important purpose in 2018. His locker was next to that of Edmunds, and I often saw the two in deep discussions. So the signing wasn't a loss.