Tag: Michael Burton

WATCH: Chiefs FB Michael Burton rumbles for first score vs. Chargers

#Chiefs FB Michael Burton got the party started for the KC offense with a seven-yard rushing touchdown. | from @TheJohnDillon

The Kansas City Chiefs fired the opening salvo of their Thursday Night Football matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15 with a slick fullback dive from seven yards out on their first drive. First-year Chief Michael Burton was given the ball on a third and one with the end zone in view, and he hurdled defensive linemen in the hole to bulldoze his way to six points.

Watch the big play that put Kansas City up early here, and check out how badly Andy Reid fooled the Chargers with the motion by Tyreek Hill:

Fullbacks are a rare commodity in today’s NFL, but Kansas City appears to have found a special talent in Burton who was featured prominently on their feel-it-out drive against Los Angeles. Fans lamented the retirement of Chiefs’ mainstay Anthony Sherman in the offseason and wondered if his replacement would be able to fill the shoes he had so capably fit in Andy Reid’s offense.

All signs point to a new offensive direction now, with the fullback position being a triple threat blocker-rusher-receiver in the role Burton is redefining in his first year in Kansas City. He took a screen pass 20 yards earlier in the drive and he’s becoming more and more involved in the Chiefs’ gameplan with each passing week.

Burton has bounced around the league a bit in his seven-year career, but he seems to have found a home with the Chiefs after playing for four other teams since being drafted by Detroit in 2015. This rushing touchdown will go down as the first of his career, though he previously had scored a receiving touchdown in his rookie season as a Lion.

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Chiefs to sign former Saints fullback Michael Burton

The Chiefs found their Anthony Sherman replacement by signing former New Orleans Saints fullback Michael Burton, an unrestricted free agent.

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The Kansas City Star’s Herbie Teope reported Tuesday that former New Orleans Saints fullback Michael Burton signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Burton was an unrestricted free agent after his one-year deal with New Orleans expired after the 2020 season. He was presumed to depart after the Saints signed former Carolina Panthers fullback Alex Armah to a one-year contract earlier this offseason.

A fifth-round pick out of Rutgers in the 2015 NFL draft, Burton spent two years with the Detroit Lions before he was claimed off of waivers by the Chicago Bears. After joining the Saints for training camp in 2019, he returned to New Orleans after a year with the Washington Football Team to replace the retired Zack Line. The fullback is viewed as a dying breed around the NFL, but Sean Payton is one of a handful of play callers who has shown a propensity for them on his roster.

While primarily a special teams player, on the field for 29% of snaps in the kicking game compared to 19% of the offensive snaps, Burton shined with his blocking skills. He saw just four targets in 2020 but was a cornerstone in the New Orleans rushing attack, which ranked sixth in the league; the trio of Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, and Taysom Hill averaged over 141 yards per game on the ground.

The salary terms are not yet known, but it’s likely the Chiefs offered a veteran minimum contract similar to what the Saints signed him to last season. That would not qualify for a compensatory draft pick in 2022. In such an underused role, any production on the part of Burton is a positive for Kansas City, particularly in the upward trajectory of young running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire as a key lead blocker. But if Burton hits the ground running, he could hang around: he’s replacing longtime Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman, who retired after eight years with the team.

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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.