Michael Burton will remain employed by an NFC North franchise after the Bears claimed him on waivers, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Lions waived Burton on Tuesday to make room for Matt Asiata.
This NFC North carousel concludes with two running backs changing teams within the division. Burton will join a Bears team that has a fullback vacancy after the team made the decision to waive Paul Lasike earlier this month.
Burton started seven games for the Lions as a rookie in 2015, but once Jim Bob Cooter took over the offensive reins midway through that season, a fullback was no longer a necessity. Burton played only 95 snaps last season and did not touch the ball on offense. The Bears figure to use him on special teams as well. They didn’t feature much work from an official fullback themselves in 2016.
The 25-year-old Rutgers product is under team control for two more years, per the terms of his rookie contract that the Bears are picking up.
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