Morgan Burnett

At 35 years old, Morgan Burnett has this physical status:

Morgan Mark Burnett (born January 13, 1989) is an American football safet for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for Georgia Tech.

With the 71st overall pick, the Green Bay Packers were drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Personal life

Cap and Ellary Burnett's parents raised Burnett in College Park, Georgia. Cap Burnett Jr., his older brother, played college football at Georgia (1999-2002) and is now the head coach of North Clayton High School's football team. His father played college football at the University of Memphis and served a short time with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL. Burnett's father died from a heart attack in 2015. The Morgan Burnett Football Camp, which is also known as a free youth football camp for children aged 6-14 in Riverside, Colquitt County, Georgia, is also held. He grew up as a fan of the Atlanta Falcons.

Nicolette Aaron and Burnett founded the Burnett Family Foundation, which gives turkey drives to aide families and gives them the items needed to have a Thanksgiving dinner. They live in Marietta, Georgia, with their three children; Morgan Jr. and Logan have both been married.

Burnett is now the Head Coach of the George Walton Comprehensive High School Freshman Football Team.

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High school career

Burnett, a native of College Park, Georgia, attended North Clayton High School, where he competed for the North Clayton Eagles high school football team. Since receiving a first-team all-state honors at quarterback as a sophomore, he was named as a senior. As a senior, he made 135 tackles and six interceptions, three of which were intercepted for touchdowns.

Burnett was also a four-year letterman in track & field, where he was one of the top performers in the triple jump, and also a four-year letterman in track & field. In the triple jump, he made a personal record of 47 feet, 12 inches (14.61 meters) in the triple jump. He also competed in the long jump, 400-meters, and relays.

Burnett, who is regarded as a four-star recruiter by Rivals.com, ranked seventh among safety recruiters around the country. Before deciding to attend Georgia Tech on January 10, 2007, he was offered athletic scholarship by a number of high-major universities, including Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia.

College career

Burnett played in all 13 games and began against UNC as a freshman. He subbed at safety and came in on the nickel package all season. Burnett led the team in interceptions (3) and finished fifth on the team in tackles (57, 37 solo). Sporting News announced that he had earned the All-Freshman team.

Burnett started all 13 games for the Yellow Jackets as a sophomore in 2008. He had 93 tackles, of which 62 were solo. Burnett also had seven interceptions and returned them for 95 yards. In the season opener versus Jacksonville State, he picked off two Ryan Perrilloux passes, one of whom was 47 yards. For his first career touchdown at Georgia, he picked up a Matthew Stafford pass and returned it 35 yards. Burnett was selected to a variety of All-ACC and All-American clubs, including Pro Football Weekly's 2008 All-America first-team.

Burnett revealed on January 11, 2010 that he will draft the 2010 NFL Draft and forego his senior season.

Professional career

In the third round (71st overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft, Burnett was selected by the Green Bay Packers. Since trading with the Philadelphia Eagles' third (86th overall) and fourth round (122nd overall) picks, the Packers made the 71st overall pick to draft Burnett. In 2010, he was the sixth safety pick in the United States.

Burnett was signed by the Green Bay Packers to a four-year, $3.50 million deal, which also included a signing bonus of $875,100.

Burnett joined training camp for the first time as the job's starting with a healthy start against veterans Atari Bigby and Charlie Peprah. After Bigby decided against a labour dispute, he advanced quickly and earned first-team reps. Burnett's head coach Mike McCarthy ranked him as the best defensive force in the regular season, as well as free safety Nick Collins.

During the 27-20 victory, he started the Green Bay Packers' season-opener at the Philadelphia Eagles and had two solo tackles. Burnett made his first career interception after a win over the Buffalo Bills in the 34–7 victory. Defensive a pass, deflected a pass, and made his first career interception off a pass. Burnett made three solo tackles before defeating the Detroit Lions 28-26 in the second quarter after suffering a back injury. Burnett had torn his ACL and was put on injured reserve three days later for the remainder of the season. Burnett's rookie season included 14 combined tackles (12 solo), one pass deflection, and an interception in four games and four starts. After losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–25, the Packers finished second in the NFC North with a 10–6 record and went on to win Super Bowl XLV.

Burnett rejoined as the de facto, with a positive result after Atari Bigby left in a free agency. During a 42-34 victory, he began the Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the New Orleans Saints, with a career-high 14 combined tackles (seven solo). In the Packers' 30–23 victory over quarterback Cam Newton, he had eight solo tackles, two pass deflections, an intercept, and made his first tackle call in his career. During a 27–17 victory over the Chicago Bears, Burnett made six combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by quarterback Jay Cutler. It was Burnett's first multi-interception game in his career. Burnett defeated the Oakland Raiders 46–16 on December 11, 2011, recording a season-high ten solo tackles. He had 107 combined tackles (78 solo), three interceptions, three interceptions, and a sack in 16 games and 16 starts in 2011 for a career-high 11 pass deflections, three interceptions, and a sack.

The Packers finished first in the NFC North 15-1 season, winning a playoff spot and a first round bye. As the Packers lost 37-20 to the eventual Super Bowl XLVI Champions the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional round, Burnett began his first career playoff game, recorded four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Eli Manning on January 15, 2012.

After the Packers moved cornerback Charles Woodson to high health after being injured in 2011 due to Nick Collins' release.

During a 28–27 victory over the New Orleans Saints on September 30, 2012, Burnett recorded a season-high 14 combined tackles (eight solo) and deflected a pass. In Week 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 11 combined tackles and sacked Blaine Gabbert. During a 23–14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on December 2, 2012, Burnett made seven combined tackles, three pass deflections, and intercepted two pass attempts by Christian Ponder. He finished the 2012 season with 123 combined tackles (88 solo), five pass deflections, two interceptions, and two sacks in 16 games and 16 starts. He and James Laurinaitis of the St. Louis Rams were two defensive players in the NFL to play every snap in every game of the season. He was rated as the 16th highest safety in 2012 by Pro Football Focus.

Burnett was signed by the Green Bay Packers to a four-year, $24.75 million contract extension, which also included a signing bonus of $8.25 million.

Burnett was named the starting free safety by head coach Mike McCarthy, as well as M. D. Jennings, who was fired by Charles Woodson following his trade to the Oakland Raiders. Burnett made one tackle before leaving the Packers' third preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks due to a hamstring injury on August 23, 2013. For the first three games of the regular season (Weeks 1–3), he was sidelined by injuries. Burnett's 27–13 loss to the New York Giants in Week 11 featured a season-high 12 combined tackles (six solo). In the Packers' 26–26 overtime tie with the Minnesota Vikings, he had season-high eight solo tackles and four assisted tackles. He had 96 total tackles (60 solo) and six pass deflections in 13 games and 13 starts in 2013 and 2013. The Packers finished first in their division with an 8-7-1 record, but they were disqualified after losing in the NFC Wild Card game for the second time in a row. In their 23–20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Burnett had six solo tackles.

The Green Bay Packers decided not to resign M. D. Jennings and moved Burnett back to solid safety in his place during the offseason. Mike McCarthy, the head coach, and free safety Micah Hyde, were among the 2014 regular season's best players to start.

Burnett's 38–17 victory over the Chicago Bears on Week 4 brought him to a season-high 13 combined tackles. After suffering a calf injury, he missed the Packers' Week 8 loss at the New Orleans Saints. During the Packers' 55-14 victory over the Chicago Bears, he returned in Week 11 and had six combined tackles, a pass deflection, and fired Jay Cutler. During a 43-37 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, he collected eight total tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted Matt Ryan's pass. He played in 94 games and 15 starts during his career (94 solo), four pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, and an interceptor. His 130 combined tackles aided the team and all defensive backs in the league, with the exception of the defensive backs. Burnett lost Russell Wilson by 28–22 points on January 18, 2015 (eight solo), a pass deflection, an intercept, and an intercept.

Burnett's head coach Mike McCarthy said the team is off to a promising start in the regular season, opposite HaHa Clinton-Dix. Burnett finished the Packers' 39–26 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in their third preseason game due to a calf injury on August 29, 2015. He was inactive for the Packers' season-opening 31–23 victory over the Chicago Bears. During a 27-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, he had three solo tackles and then went on to miss the next four games (Weeks 3–6) after aggravating his calf injury. In a 30-20 win over the Oakland Raiders on December 20, 2015, Burnett had eight combined tackles and a season-high three pass deflections. When the Packers were defeated 38–8 at the Arizona Cardinals this week, he had a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) and gave up a pass. He played in 68 combined tackles (47 solo) and five pass deflections in 11 games and 11 starts in his sixth season in 2015. Pro Football Focus rated him as the fourth highest graded security in 2015, with an overall rating of 88.5 and a coverage rating of 81.2. Sports Illustrated also ranked Burnett as the third best strong safety in 2015 in the United Kingdom.

During a 27–23 victory, he started the Green Bay Packers' season-opener and scored eight solo tackles, an assisted tackle, and fired quarterback Blake Bortles. Burnett was inactive for the Packers' Week 3 victory over the Detroit Lions due to a groin injury sustained the previous week. Burnett's quarterback Dak Prescott intercepted a pass by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in their 30-16 loss on October 16, 2016. With 93 combined tackles (70 solo), nine pass deflections, three sacks, three interceptions, and two interceptions in 15 games and 15 starts, he finished the 2016 season. He received an overall rating of 84.0 from Pro Football Focus, placing him 15th out of all qualified safeties in 2016.

During a 35–14 victory over the Chicago Bears, Burnett had a season-high nine combined tackles. After suffering a hamstring injury, he missed two games (Weeks 6–7). During a 30–17 loss to the Detroit Lions on November 6, 2017, he made five combined tackles before halting in the fourth quarter after suffering a groin injury. (Weeks 10-11): The injury sidelined him for the next two games. During a 31-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he returned in Week 12 and recorded a season-high nine solo tackles. In 12 games and 12 starts, he had 68 total tackles (48 solo) and three pass deflections. Burnett received a total rating of 77.2, which placed him 51st among all qualifying safeties in 2017.

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Burnett to a three-year, $14.35 million contract with a signing bonus of $4.25 million.

The Steelers cut Burnett on April 1, 2019.

Burnett and the Cleveland Browns agreed to a two-year contract on April 5, 2019. Burnett intercepted a pass throw by former teammate Mason Rudolph in Week 11 before tearing his Achilles in the 21–7 victory. Burnett was ruled out for the season after the game. He played in eight games, with 41 tackles, two passes defensed, an interceptor, and two sacks.

Burnett was fired by the Browns on March 16, 2020.

On March 29, 2021, Burnett announced his retirement from professional football. On August 30, 2022, he retired as a Green Bay Packer.

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