Steelers GM Kevin Colbert remains optimistic about Artie Burns

Artie Burns hasn’t had the best NFL career through three seasons, but Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert is staying optimistic about the cornerback.

It’s no secret Artie Burns has been a bust through three years. The former first-round pick started most of his rookie season but since has struggled. Last year, he was benched halfway through the year and it appeared most of the team and fanbase gave up on the cornerback.

But not everyone is ready to drop Burns. He still falls under his rookie contract and despite underperforming and losing confidence, Burns has potential he can tap into. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert says the two sides have met this offseason and he feels Burns can return to the rotation and regain his confidence during the summer.

"“Artie lost his confidence and wasn’t where we needed him to be and was replaced in the starting lineup,” Colbert said. “He’s had a good offseason . . . we had good meetings with him. He wants to be back where he was.”"

Lets hope Colbert is correct. Burns needs to re-find his confidence before getting back on the field. He seemed lost on the field and allowed anyone and everyone to get past him in routes last season. If he wants to play at all in 2019, he needs to become a stronger coverage man in both man and zone.

It’s going to be a difficult season for Burns to earn himself a spot on the team. He’ll be competing with Steven Nelson and Justin Layne for the outside job with Joe Haden securing the other starting role. Chances are Nelson already has the other starting job secured, and Mike Hilton is the slot guy, so it’ll be up to Burns to earn the final corner spot over Layne.

The Steelers secondary finally looks like something they’ve been searching for. From corner to safety, this unit appears ready to make noise. Adding Mark Barron and Devin Bush at linebacker also means this defense as a whole filled almost all the voids they had to fill before entering the 2019 season.