If there's a spike in the sales of Steelers memorabilia in the southern Atlanta suburb of Clayton County, Georgia, nobody should be too surprised.
After all, their native sons are now on the same NFL team.
If new Steelers safety Morgan Burnett has issues picking up the new defense, he has a familiar face he can rely on for help. He and second-year cornerback Cameron Sutton both hail from College Park, Ga. In fact, Burnett's older brother, Cap, is the head football coach at North Clayton High School, where he coached both his younger brother and Sutton.
"I’ve known Cam since he was young, so we have a good, close relationship," Burnett said. "I do a camp back home, so Cam comes around the kids and they enjoy seeing Cam, so we have a good relationship in our hometown. We don’t get (to) have too many people come out of our hometown, so they are very proud and supportive, especially with us being on the same team now."
Well, that had just happened an hour or two earlier, but you get the point.
The Steelers contacted Burnett's agent last week and again on Monday night to set up his trip to Pittsburgh, so he didn't have a chance yet to get in touch with Sutton. But he planned on doing so later in the day, after he wrapped up signing a three-year, $14.5-million contract to join the Steelers as the newest member of their secondary.
Somewhat ironically, the addition of Burnett likely means Sutton won't be changing positions as the Steelers had been considering. But the Georgians can now go about the business of trying to win a Super Bowl together.
Burnett knows a little bit about that, as well. While he appeared in just four games as a rookie for the Green Bay Packers in 2010, he did get to watch as they defeated the Steelers in the Super Bowl that year.
Burnett, who turned 29 in January, said he doesn't wear his Super Bowl ring because he's not a flashy guy, but he does take it out every once in a while to look at it or show his kids.
“That Super Bowl, you can’t get any better," Burnett said. "You have two historical franchises going against one another. It was a great game from the (beginning) to the end. I came away with a ring, but hopefully you can change things around (here). It was a great experience, especially as a rookie and a young player, it was good to watch."
The Steelers feel Burnett will give them a much better opportunity to get back to the Super Bowl. Along with linebacker Jon Bostic, who was signed by the team Monday, Burnett will represent a new middle of their 2018 defense, whether the Steelers decide to play him at strong or free safety.
Burnett, who played both safety spots, slot corner and even linebacker at times for the Packers, said the Steelers haven't told him where he will fit into their defense. With Mike Mitchell released last week, the team has an obvious opening at free safety. But, much like the Packers, many of the responsibilities of the safety spots for the Steelers are the same, with the only exception being the free safety plays a little more deep zone than the strong side.
Mitchell had been scheduled to earn $5 million in 2018.
"It really doesn’t matter to me," Burnett said. "I love football. As long as I’m on the field, I’m happy and ready to go."
Burnett, a third-round pick out of Georgia Tech in 2010, signed a four-year, $24.75 million extension in 2013, before the final year of his rookie contract. The deal paid him a guaranteed $8.25 million signing bonus. He leaves Green Bay after eight seasons in which he started 102 regular season games and 11 more in the postseason.
He has just 10 career interceptions, but five came in 2011 and 2012 when he played free safety on a full-time basis. He also had 18 combined passes defensed in those two seasons. But Green Bay's secondary has struggled in recent seasons because of inexperience and injuries — including some to Burnett himself — and he was forced to move around and be a chess piece.
The Steelers could use him in a similar style. They also could use him as a play caller, something he did for the Packers. Ryan Shazier, the team's signal caller on defense the previous two seasons, was lost to a career-threatening spinal cord injury in a win Dec. 4 of last season. The play calling duties then fell to fellow inside linebacker Vince Williams.
With a strong communicator such as Burnett on board, however, the Steelers now have more options — assuming Burnett can quickly assimilate himself into their defense.
"At first, like you said, it’s normally for linebackers. When they brought it to me, I was kind of like, 'Whoa, that’s nothing I’m used to doing,'" Burnett said. "But it doesn’t take long. The only thing you’re doing is repeating what you hear in your helmet. Sometimes it can be a tongue-twister. But you’ve got to improvise and make sure everyone gets it right.”
That was a problem at times for the Steelers in the past, especially after Shazier went out. They also were looking for a player who was a better tackler than Mitchell. They might have solved both issues in one signing.
Burnett is considered a sure tackler and has five seasons with at least 93 tackles, including three in which he has topped 100.
"They have a tradition of winning," Burnett said of the Steelers. "Coming from Green Bay, it was the same tradition. For those guys to be interested in me, and want me here, you can’t turn nothing like that down. You talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers, a very proud city, a proud town, great players. I wanted to be a part of it and try to earn the respect of my teammates."
