Artie Burns hopes to capitalize on new opportunity with Seahawks | Health, medicine and fitness

RENTON, Wash. (AP) – Be it an injury or a subpar performance, Artie Burns has never quite lived up to the expectations that followed him out of college.

But he still has the talent that made him a first roster six years ago. And after a promising 2021 season in Chicago, Burns is hoping that his move to Seattle and the prospect of becoming a starting cornerback for the Seahawks will continue his upward path.

“To have the chance to bring him here, it’s hard to find a kid with that kind of measurable traits and talent,” said defense coordinator Clint Hurtt. “We still feel like he’s an up and coming player.”

Burns’ arrival to the Seahawks was the culmination of a process that began during the 2020 off-season and was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He had limited his choices to Seattle or Chicago and ultimately chose the Bears because of the proximity to his family.

Moving across the country amid a pandemic was not the pressure he wanted to put on his children, who were then 6 and 3.

“They are super sticky. They don’t want me to be too far away,” Burns said.

But the occasion and the situation were different this time. His children are older and his family was more comfortable moving to the Pacific Northwest. He was offered a healthy contract, signing for $2 million for this season. He got the chance to follow Chicago’s Sean Desai after being hired as Seattle’s new head coach.

Burns also arrived knowing he will likely be a starter even with two promising rookies pushing for game time.

“We can all run. That’s an advantage,” Burns said. “Everyone is a challenge. That is a good environment for everyone to get better.”

Those rookies looking for opportunities are fourth-round Coby Bryant and fifth-round Tariq Woolen. Bryant is polished and looks ready to step into a prominent role. He was eclipsed in Cincinnati by Sauce Gardner, but Bryant was the one named the Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s best defense.

Wool is raw, but his six-foot frame is very reminiscent of the big, physical cornerbacks Seattle has had in the past.

“The creativity and playmaking ability that Coby brings is clear. He has incredible hands and playmaking ability on the ball. You can already see that,” said coach Pete Carroll. “We haven’t had a man who was physically stronger than Tariq. He is tall and tall and very fast. He is a natural mover. He’s smart and gets it. We’ll see what happens.”

Bryant and Woolen clearly represent Seattle’s hopes for the future. But the expected starters – Burns and Sidney Jones – are both coming from the season that saw their careers revived.

A former pinnacle of college in Washington, Jones returned to the Pacific Northwest last season and thrived when he landed a fledgling role.

Burns started six of the last seven games for Chicago last season after missing the entire 2020 season following a torn ACL. The injury gave him time to study the Chicago defense and he was able to translate that to the field last season.

It’s a defense very similar to what the Seahawks are planning to put up this year and Desai was in charge.

“Yeah, he’s familiar with the plan because he was in Chicago last year. You’ve seen that benefit pay off since he got here,” Hurtt said. “He’s got great command, helping the young boys and I can see the arrow going up on Artie about where he’s going.”

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