The Oakland Raiders announced that they have signed defensive back Juston Burris after officially placing rookie safety Johnathan Abram on IR.
Abram suffered a shoulder injury in the Raiders’ season-opener against the Denver Broncos that forced him to undergo surgery that will cost him almost his entire rookie season.
Burris has the ability to play both safety and cornerback, so he will give the Raiders some much-needed depth in their secondary after injuries to Abram and Gareon Conley, who is expected to play in Sunday’s Week 2 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
After originally being drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round in 2016 out of North Carolina State, Burris spent his first three seasons between the Jets and Cleveland Browns.
In 38 career games (two starts), Burris has recorded 28 tackles (27 solo), two interceptions, seven passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He played in eight games between the Jets and Browns in 2018 and had two tackles, mainly playing on special teams.
Burris was one of the six defensive backs that the Raiders reportedly worked out on Thursday to replace Abram and it appears he was the most impressive of the bunch.
