Trey Burton cashed in well on the free agent market.
The former Philadelphia Eagles tight end has agreed in principle to a four-year, $32 million deal with the Chicago Bears, per a report from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. ESPN’s Adam Schefter later reported the terms of the deal.
Burton was likely become too pricey for the Eagles to retain him, and that is exactly what happened. Having a star tight end in Zach Ertz also made Burton expendable as is. Burton was only on the field for 27% of the Eagles offensive snaps in 2017, but he played a vital role for the Eagles on special teams throughout the entire season.
The 26-year-old Burton also played a vital role in the Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots. On a trick play in the Super Bowl that has now been called the ‘Philly Special’, Burton threw a touchdown pass to quarterback Nick Foles off a reverse handoff. It made sense that Burton threw the ball on that play as well, considering his experience playing quarterback while playing his college football at Florida.
For the Bears, this is their second signing of the day to improve their offensive talent around rising star Mitch Trubisky. Earlier this morning, the team agreed to a deal with Allen Robinson on a three-year deal worth $42 million that included $25 million guaranteed.
Prior to signing with Chicago, Burton received interest from a wide-range of teams around the league, including the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and the New York Jets. Burton was ranked 37th on The Game Day Report’s list of the top 50 available NFL free agents this off-season.
Burton caught 23 passes for 248 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2017, bringing his career totals to 63 catches, 629 yards, and 6 touchdowns.
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