Steelers Decline Fifth-Year Option on CB Artie Burns

The Steelers have declined the fifth-year option on cornerback Artie Burns according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This was an easy decision for the Steelers as Burns has not come close to living up to his status as the No. 25-overall pick in the 2016 draft out of the University of Miami.

The option would have paid Burns over $9.5 million in 2020, which is simply too much for a cornerback who was benched in late October for missing a pregame walkthrough and played just 15 defensive snaps after Week six.

Burns just turned 25 years old on May 1 and could conceivably turn his career around but it seems unlikely that career resurgence will happen in Pittsburgh.