Getty Former Saints fullback Michael Burton and quarterback Drew Brees.
On March 4, the Kansas City Chiefs lost a longstanding member of the team’s core in Pro Bowl fullback Anthony Sherman, who announced his retirement from the NFL in an epic Twitter video. Nearly one month later, Brett Veach, Andy Reid and company have identified his potential replacement.
According to The Kansas City Star’s Herbie Teope on Thursday, the Chiefs and former New Orleans Saints fullback Michael Burton have agreed to a one-year contract. The financial terms of the deal were not immediately made public.
#Chiefs are signing fullback Michael Burton to a one-year deal, according to a source.
Burton played for the Saints last season.
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Burton Joining 5th Team in 7 NFL Seasons
GettyFormer Saints fullback Michael Burton signals a first down.
Burton, who turned 29 years old on February 1, first entered the league in 2015 as a fifth-round draft pick (168th overall) of the Detroit Lions. He spent his first two seasons in the Motor City before being waived during the 2017 offseason. Burton was quickly scooped up by the division-rival Chicago Bears, where he also lasted two years before latching on with the Washington Football team in 2019 and, most recently, the Saints last season.
The 6-foot, 240-pounder Rutgers product hasn’t been quite the playmaker that Sherman proved to be throughout his career, tallying only 28 touches (15 carries) for 110 yards and a receiving touchdown through his first six seasons. However, Burton has made a noticeable impact as a blocker and special teamer with 13 career tackles and a fumble recovery in that phase. Perhaps unsurprisingly, nearly half of his career production came in Sean Payton’s high-octane offense in 2020, while also playing 132 special teams snaps (29%).
Should Burton make it through training camp, he’d be a likely part of the weekly active roster blocking for a running back group headlined by 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire and filling out a spot on Dave Toub’s unit for the 2021 season. The Chiefs may also elect to bring in additional competition at the fullback position this offseason.
Chiefs Lose DE Tanoh Kpassagnon to Saints
The arrival of Burton is the latest crossover between Kansas City and New Orleans via free agency this offseason. Last week, former Chiefs second-round pick Tanoh Kpassagnon joined the Saints on a two-year, $4.5 million deal after Kansas City “made a run” at re-signing the 6-foot-7, 289-pound defensive end, per Teope.
Despite his lengthy frame and raw talent, the 26-year-old never reached his ceiling through his first four seasons, though he did make an impact on special teams and as a rotational piece before starting 15-of-16 games last year. In 61 career games (24 starts), Kpassagnon racked up 75 combined tackles (12 for loss), 18 quarterback hits, 7.0 sacks and five pass breakups.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is now the only remaining member of the Chiefs’ 2017 draft class on the roster.
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Chris Licata is an NFL contributor covering the Kansas City Chiefs from enemy territory in Denver, Colorado. Follow him on Twitter @Chris__Licata or join the Heavy on Chiefs Facebook community for the latest out of Chiefs Kingdom!