Report: Browns plan to sign safety Morgan Burnett

The Cleveland Browns are planning to sign safety Morgan Burnett and quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

The news was reported by ohio.com’s Nate Ulrich.

Burnett was originally a third-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He spent eight seasons with the Packers, overlapping with current Browns general manager John Dorsey’s time in Green Bay. Burnett made 102 starts with Green Bay, compiling 717 tackles and nine interceptions.

He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent in 2018, but had a rough year. He suffered a groin injury early in the season, which limited him to just 11 games. Burnett finished the season with 30 tackles and just 364 defensive snaps, according to NFL.com, as part of a safety rotation that saw Burnett line up frequently as a dime linebacker.

Burnett had asked to be released from the Steelers in January, but the team did not comply until Monday of this week. He joins Eric Murray, who was acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs in a trade this week for defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, as players in the mix to fill the void at one safety position left by the trade of Jabrill Peppers and the release of Derrick Kindred.

As for Gilbert, he entered the league in 2014 as a sixth-round selection of the Rams while they were still in St. Louis. He has since bounced around from the Rams to the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers.

He has appeared in one NFL regular season game, in 2018 with the Panthers, where he completed two of three passes for 40 yards.

Gilbert spent the past few months as the starting quarterback for the Orlando Apollos of the defunct Alliance of American Football League. He 60.6 percent of his passes for 2,152 yards, 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions while leading the Apollos to a league-best 7-1 record.

He joins fellow veteran Drew Stanton as backups to quarterback Baker Mayfield.