Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back, Artie Burns, signed with the Seattle Seahawks Wednesday, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
His deal is about $2 million for one year. This comes after a season with the Chicago Bears in 2021, where Burns played 11 games and started six, making 23 tackles, 19 solo. He missed his first season in Chicago in 2020 after tearing his ACL in training camp.
Burns, 26, was the Steelers’ first-round draft pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, but had lost his starting job in Pittsburgh over the last year and a half, which triggered the Steelers to decline the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, making him a free agent.
His rookie season in 2016 was a bright spot in a lackluster tenure in Pittsburgh. He played in all 16 games and made 65 tackles, 52 solo and also made 3 interceptions.
Burns started all 16 games as a second-year player in 2017, but in 2018, he was supplanted by veteran Coty Sensabaugh, and in 2019, the Steelers acquired Steven Nelson as a free agent, leaving Burns with minimal playing time. In 2019, he played in 10 games and made one start, recording a total of just eight tackles.
Burns was the last player of the Steelers’ 2016 draft class to remain with the team. Safety Sean Davis, nose tackle Javon Hargrave and inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich had previously left the team in this free agency period.