Even though he saw a decrease in playing time last Sunday in the home game against the New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Artie Burns believes he will play quite a bit this coming Sunday in the team’s road game against the Miami Dolphins.
Burns, who has reportedly registered two picks so far this week in practice, said Thursday he’s expecting an increased role against the Dolphins and that he’s been promoted.
“I’m in the first nickel package, increasing my role,” Burns said, according to Mike Prisuta. “More playing time means more time to make plays.”
Against the Jets, Burns was listed as playing just 13 snaps and on Thursday defensive coordinator Keith Butler talked about that during his weekly segment on Steelers Nation Radio.
“Artie might not have played as many plays but he played well the plays that he did play and it’s going to help us as we go along,” Butler said.
Burns will return home to Florida this weekend and will get a chance to play in front of a lot of family and friends who watched him play in college at Miami.
“I’ve got to take care of business while I’m there,” said Burns, who has nine total tackles and 4 defensed passes on the season. “I’m sure my family and friends will understand that this isn’t a pleasure trip. “I’m feeling really confident now. I just got to get my hands on the ball so I can make the plays I know I can.”
With Burns expected to see a lot of playing time on Sunday in the team’s nickel and dime packages, veteran coenerback William Gay will probably play more in the slot with Ross Cockrell manning the other outside spot. The Steelers defense figures to get safety Robert Golden and cornerback Justin Gilbert back from injuries on Sunday and as I wrote on Thursday, this will likely result in rookie safety Sean Davis seeing the field less.
