Tag: Michael Burton

3 things to know about new Chiefs FB Michael Burton

Get to know the newest fullback for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs recently agreed to terms with free-agent FB Michael Burton on a one-year deal. After spending last season with the New Orleans Saints, Burton will look to help ease the loss of retired FB and special teams ace, Anthony Sherman. Here’s a quick look at three things the Chiefs Kingdom should know about their newest player.

Report: Chiefs to sign former Saints FB Michael Burton

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed a new fullback.

The Kansas City Chiefs remain hard at work during the 2021 free agency period, this time adding a fullback to the roster.

According to Kansas City Star beat writer Herbie Teope, the Chiefs are signing former New Orleans Saints fullback Michael Burton on a one-year deal. Andy Reid’s team continues to be one of the few that still uses a fullback and they needed a replacement for recently-retired fullback Anthony Sherman. 

Burton entered the league as a fifth-round draft pick with the Detroit Lions back in 2015, playing with them for just two seasons. He’s since played for the Chicago Bears, the Washington Football Team and most recently the Saints.

Burton is a true fullback, listed at 6-foot and 240 pounds. During his career, he has just 15 carries for 29 yards. He is sure-handed, though, recording 13 receptions on 17 targets for 81 yards and a touchdown.

In 2020, Burton played 29% of the special teams snaps and 19% of the offensive snaps with the Saints. If he’s more than a camp body in Kansas City, look for Burton to make his biggest mark on special teams. He has 13 career tackles and a fumble recovery on special teams during the course of his career.

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Saints offense playing its best football out of 21 personnel

The New Orleans Saints offense has played like one of the NFL’s best without Michael Thomas, leaning on Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray.

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Which position group has impressed the most for the New Orleans Saints offense? The quarterbacks and wide receivers have had their struggles, while the offensive line and tight ends have been dealt a tough hand with injuries.

On a week-to-week evaluation, it’s hard to argue against running backs Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray as the most consistent performers: they’re each averaging more than 4.0 yards per carry and rank first and third on the team in yards from scrimmage through the first five games. So getting them on the field as often as possible in 21 personnel packages, either together or lined up with fullback Michael Burton, makes sense.

But the Saints have run just 12 percent of their plays out of this package with one tight end, two running backs, and two wide receivers, but they’ve had impressive success. They’re averaging 5.0 yards per carry on 21 rushing attempts and 11.1 yards per pass attempt on 15 throws. It’s a total success rate of 65%, among the best in the league.

The Carolina Panthers haven’t used it often as the Saints (21 plays) but they have also achieved a 65% success rate out of 21 personnel. The Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks each have a 100% success rate in that package, but they’ve combined for just three plays. Six other teams run 21 personnel more often than the Saints, but none of them are as effective.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the Saints should wildly change what they’re doing. They’re performing as one of the NFL’s better offenses regardless of personnel packages; their least successful look is 22 personnel with two backs, two tight ends, and just one receiver, and even that success rate (48%) trails only the Baltimore Ravens (51%) among teams using it 25 or more times this season.

What the Saints are doing on offense is working. It might not be as flashy as we’re used to, but they’re still scoring 30.6 points per game — more than the Ravens, who lead the league in total points scored in six weeks but at just 29.8 points per game. And they’ve done that without Michael Thomas, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year. If the team’s pass defense can improve just slightly and if Thomas can help open up the offense, they’ll have a vastly different perception in just a few weeks.

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Update: Saints COVID-19 test was false positive, Lions kickoff is on

The New Orleans Saints confirmed a false positive test result for a COVID-19 infection before their Week 4 kickoff against the Detroit Lions

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The New Orleans Saints were sent in a minor panic late Saturday night upon learning that one of the players in their traveling party, fullback Michael Burton, had tested positive for COVID-19 before joining them on the team plane. Burton was immediately re-tested to check for a false positive, and the four players nearest to him in transit — including running back Alvin Kamara — were also given rapid point-of-care tests to see if any infections had spread.

But early Sunday morning The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell reported that Burton’s second test returned a negative result, which means he initially received a false positive. This was confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, who reported that each of the other four Saints players also returned negative results.

It’s the fourth false positive test the Saints have received this year, after Deonte Harris, Kaden Elliss, and Chase Hansen were sidelined for a few days in training camp while awaiting additional test results. There were concerns that false positive results could hurt a team during the season, and they nearly did; but that’s just part of trying to play football amid a public health crisis.

So now we’re looking to see how the Saints play when they play against the Lions at Ford Field. Kickoff is scheduled for noon CT on Fox.

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Game on: Saints’ player’s original sample retested and confirmed negative

The Detroit Lions versus New Orleans Saints game will be played at it’s scheduled time as Michael Burton’s original sample was retested and confirmed negative.

The Detroit Lions versus New Orleans Saints game will be played at it’s originally scheduled time as Michael Burton’s original sample was retested and confirmed negative, per multiple reports.

If you missed the drama throughout the night, here’s a quick recap.

The Saints’ players and staff were tested on Friday per usual and after their results came back negative on Saturday morning and they were cleared to fly to Detroit. Before departing New Orleans, they once again went through the testing process to clear everyone for Sunday’s game. When those results came in, Burton was flagged with a positive result.

Once the positive result came in, the Saints did contact tracing and identified four other players that needed testing, and a rapid-tests were administered. Burton’s original sample was also retested and all tests came back negative.

Ironically, it was Matthew Stafford’s false-positive test result from training camp, and the Lions’ protest over testing standards at the time, that forced the NFL and NFLPA to change the testing procedures to rule out future false-positives, like Burton’s.

In the end, the game will be played at 1:00 pm EST, as previously scheduled. Stay tuned to Lions Wire for all your pre-game articles.

Lions vs Saints game in jeopardy as Saints players tests positive for COVID-19

A New Orleans Saints player has tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Detroit for their Week 4 game with the Lions, putting this week’s game in jeopardy.

Multiple sources are reporting that New Orleans Saints player — and former Detroit Lion — fullback Michael Burton has tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Detroit for their Week 4 game with the Lions.

As part of league COVID-19 protocols, NFL teams are testing players every day and after Friday’s testing cleared the Saints for their Saturday flight to Detroit, Saturday’s tests returned with a positive result.

Currently, Burton is being rapid-tested to confirm his positive result and trying to determine if it is accurate or a possible false-positive, like what happened with Matthew Stafford in training camp.

Not only is Burton being retested, but contact tracing has identified three additional players who sat on the plane around him who are also being rechecked, including star running back Alvin Kamara.

This is just the latest in a sudden surge in positive test results around the league. This week, the NFL has already postponed the Titans vs Vikings game and delayed the Patriots vs Chiefs game to Monday or Tuesday.

Now, the Lions vs Saints game is in real jeopardy.

With the game scheduled to take place at 1:00 pm EST, the big question is: can the NFL get accurate test results they can feel confident in, in order to play the game on time, or will the league take a cautious approach and delay this game, as they did with the Patriots-Chiefs?

This is a developing situation. Stay tuned to Lions Wire for updates.

Report: Saints’ player tests positive for COVID-19

Saints RB Michael Burton has tested positive for COVID-19 per a report.

The COVID-19 news continues for the NFL and it continues to be bad. The latest came Saturday night when it was learned after the New Orleans Saints landed in Detroit a player had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The player who tested positive is reported to be fullback Michael Burton.

The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff in Detroit. However, the Saints are awaiting testing for seven players, including a re-test of Burton.

The news comes on a day when New England quarterback Cam Newton tested positive leading to the Patriots’ game with the Kansas City Chiefs being postponed. Also, the Tennessee Titans saw more players test positive with the number of people within the team and organization nearing 20.

 

 

Saints receive a positive COVID-19 test after landing in Detroit

The New Orleans Saints received a positive test result for COVID-19 in their traveling party the night before kickoff with the Detroit Lions

The New Orleans Saints set up camp at the team hotel Saturday night before Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions and learned that one player, fullback Michael Burton, in the traveling party tested positive for COVID-19, reported Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Fox Sports insider Jay Glazer confirmed the news, adding that tests are being re-examined to check against a false positive test result. Four other players in close contact with their teammate who tested positive are awaiting point-of-contact test results, including star running back Alvin Kamara.

Players are sampled with daily nasal swab tests, but the results are not available until hours later. This would mean they didn’t know about Burton’s positive test until the team plane landed in Detroit.

It’s a serious situation, and one the NFL has experienced repeatedly during the last week. Several Week 4 games have been postponed due to positive COVID-19 test results, but it’s too soon to say whether Sunday’s Saints-Lions game will be delayed. Last week, the Atlanta Falcons played the Chicago Bears after designating cornerback A.J. Terrell to the COVID-19 reserve list a day earlier.

And the Saints have had several false positive results back in training camp. But they also know how serious this can be, having sidelined running back Dwayne Washington for 18 days on the reserve list. Saints coach Sean Payton and team owner Gayle Benson have both recovered from the coronavirus earlier this year.

But this is every bit a developing situation. Stay tuned for updates.

Michael Burton returned to Saints because they checked every box

The Saints signed free agent fullback Michael Burton, whose experience with them in 2019 made New Orleans a top destination in 2020.

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The New Orleans Saints have always valued the fullback, which is a bit surprising given the position’s endangered species-status around the NFL in recent years. At a time when teams are throwing the ball more than ever and opting for less-crowded backfields in favor of wide-open pass sets, hard-nosed blockers like Michael Burton have generally had to take opportunities whenever they’ve come up.

But as Burton explained it, the Saints (as pass-happy as any team in the league) have a lot to offer to someone in his position. He spent the 2019 training camp competing with Zach Line for the starting gig, but had his hopes derailed by a late-summer injury. Now healthy, with Line retired and an open vacancy on top of the depth chart, Burton’s positive experience made the Saints a logical landing spot.

Burton spoke about his interest in the Saints and what led him back to New Orleans during a conference call with local media, saying, “Any given year, they’re top four in the league in fullback percentage usage and it just interests me too. I like the analytical side of football as well. I think maybe I want to be a coach or something like that.”

He also ran through a list of recent standout fullbacks the Saints have employed, proving he’s done his homework: “You look at Zach, the previous years, John Kuhn a few years ago, Austin Johnson, a few years ago, Jed Collins a few years ago, you have had a great fullback in place. That’s the goal to have the right guy.”

But it goes beyond a strong team culture and a playbook that creates plenty of opportunities for him to get on the field. The Saints coaching staff itself appealed to Burton. He first entered the NFL with the Detroit Lions, playing under then-offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi (now the Saints quarterbacks coach). And even earlier than that, he suited up at Rutgers with familiar faces on the Saints special teams staff like coordinator Darren Rizzi and assistant coach Phil Galiano drawing up his assignments.

Burton did the math, and reached an easy conclusion: the Saints matched up with what he wanted from just about every angle you could consider. Once the team gets to work, he should hit the ground running.

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Saints agree to terms with free agent fullback Michael Burton

The New Orleans Saints agreed to terms with free agent fullback Michael Burton, who spent the 2019 offseason and training camp with them.

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The New Orleans Saints agreed to terms on a contract with free agent fullback Michael Burton on Friday, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. Burton spent last offseason and training camp with the Saints before joining the Washington Redskins midway through the 2019 season. He played 68 snaps on offense in D.C. but spent the bulk of his time on special teams, logging 177 appearances in 10 games.

Burton rose to prominence with the Chicago Bears before joining the Saints, and would have likely continued to grow into a household name if his career started a decade earlier. But the game’s shift away from traditional fullbacks and the run-first attack has made athletes like Burton an endangered species.

That could change in New Orleans. The Saints lost starting fullback Zach Line to retirement earlier this offseason; before his late-season injury in 2019, he was one of the NFL’s most frequently-played fullbacks, trailing only Minnesota Vikings starter C.J. Ham and San Francisco 49ers cornerstone Kyle Jusczyk in snaps played per game.

Saints coach Sean Payton values the positional versatility that fullbacks can present thanks to their skills set as blockers, runners, and occasional receivers. If Burton’s body holds up (he’s had some injury issues in the past), he could turn into a featured piece of the Saints offense in 2020, joining fan-favorites like Line, Jed Collins, and John Kuhn in their collective memory. He won’t lack for opportunities.

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