The Cincinnati Bengals agreed to a two-year, $5 million deal with former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Oren Burks on Monday, a source told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Burks will have an opportunity to start for a Bengals defense that was their weak spot in 2024. The 29-year-old stepped up for the injured Nakobe Dean in the playoffs and had 25 tackles (three for loss), a sack, two QB hits and a pass breakup to help the team eventually make it to the Super Bowl and beat the Kansas City Chiefs. The former third-rounder (88th overall) by the Green Bay Packers in 2018 out of Vanderbilt had 41 tackles (20 solo), a pass breakup and two forced fumbles for the Eagles in 17 regular-season games (two starts) in his lone season with the team in 2024. Burks has only 17 starts in his seven NFL seasons, but he is in line to step into an expanded role for the first time in his career in Cincinnati in 2025.
Former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Oren Burks signed a one-year deal worth up to $2.5 million with the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday, according to a source. Burks is a special teams standout who played in 15 regular-season games (five starts) for San Fran last year, picking up a career-high 46 tackles (29 solo), a career-high one sack, his first career interception and a fumble recovery. The 28-year-old former third-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2018 out of Vanderbilt was mostly a special teams player in his previous five seasons in the NFL, but he saw an expanded defensive role in 2023 with the Niners. Don't expect Burks to play quite as much on defense as a linebacker in his new home in Philadelphia in 2024.
The San Francisco 49ers announced on Thursday that they signed former Green Bay Packers linebacker Oren Burks to an undisclosed two-year deal. Burks was taken in the third round of the 2018 draft by the Packers out of Vanderbilt. In his four seasons with the Packers, he mostly played in a rotational role while starting just seven of his 59 games played. In 2021, Burks had a career-high 36 tackles (24 solo), a fumble recovery and half a sack in 17 games (three starts). The 26-year-old will primarily provide depth in San Francisco at the linebacker spot behind Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw in 2022.
Oren Burks
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Bengals
