Tight End Trey Burton, Coach Frank Reich Excited About Colts Reunion

They won a Super Bowl in Philadelphia three years ago, so Burton looks forward to rebounding from a hip injury in Reich's Indianapolis Colts offense, which emphasizes the use of pass-catching tight ends. And the player has a deep admiration for the coach, who called when the Bears released Burton.

INDIANAPOLIS — When tight end Trey Burton was released by the Chicago Bears last month, one of the first calls his agent received was from the Indianapolis Colts.

Burton and Colts head coach Frank Reich were together in Philadelphia in 2016 and 2017. Then an Eagles offensive coordinator, Reich became familiar with Burton’s skill set. Burton is particularly remembered for throwing a TD pass to quarterback Nick Foles on a trick play in the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win over the New England Patriots.

After enjoying a career-best 2018 with 54 receptions for 569 yards and six TDs for the Bears, Burton was limited by a hip injury to just eight games last season. That led to his release, which came as a surprise to him.

That Reich called Burton didn’t come as a surprise, and precipitated the seventh-year pro signing a one-year, $910,000 deal with the Colts.

“I mean he’s just so genuine,” Burton said of Reich in a Zoom video conference call after his signing was announced. “There’s not much fluff with him. It’s all real, truth talk. I mean I think our first conversation when he called me when I first became a free agent, I think we talked for 45 minutes, man. A small part of it was about football. He’s always asking how family is doing. He really wants to know how I’m feeling and what’s going on. I just think he’s a rock star.”

Reich shared his positive sentiment on Burton in a Monday conference call.

“I’m incredibly excited about Trey,” Reich said. “Obviously, I was with Trey in Philadelphia. Trey is a big-time playmaking tight end. This guy is an incredible route runner, really smart and instinctive player. I think he fits a big need in our offense.

“You know that spot in our offense gets a lot of attention and I think he can step into that role that (Eric) Ebron was in. He’ll play it differently than Ebron would play it. It’ll look different, we’ll scheme different things up for Trey than we did for Ebron – some of them will be different. But that role gets highlighted schematically in certain ways and I expect Trey, assuming he’s going to stay healthy, will have a very productive year.”

Ebron departed in free agency for Pittsburgh after enjoying a Pro Bowl year in 2018 before injuries and drops limited his production last season.

Aside from being with a coach he respects and admires, Burton looks forward to joining an offense that utilizes tight ends. Colts tight end Jack Doyle, formerly an undrafted hometown hero from Indianapolis, was named to his second Pro Bowl last season. And new quarterback Philip Rivers, who signed a one-year, $25-million deal with the Colts after 16 seasons with the Chargers, has a history of connecting with tight ends.

“Well, they love the tight ends and I am excited because I am walking into an unbelievable opportunity from the tight end room,” Burton said. “I mean there are some great guys in there – guys who have played at a really high level before, guys that I have watched in the past and respect the heck out of them and their game and how they play it. So that was one of the things I was really excited about.

“Also, just the fact that this offense is based around tight ends. Philip over his career notoriously loves throwing the ball to tight ends and he has had a lot of really good ones he has been able to throw to. Just knowing Frank personally from previous teams and things like that, it was basically a no-brainer for me.”

As Reich alluded, the question about Burton pertains to health. He said he was initially misdiagnosed prior to surgery before the 2019 season, then was rushed back to play. He had hip surgery in December, a procedure the tight end said he should have undergone initially. The recovery timetable is about six months, which means if all goes well he should be ready to go by late summer.

“I am not an injury-prone type of guy,” he said. “I’ve never really been injured before. So if I can get healthy, which I believe I will be able to, I am really excited for the season.

“It’s tough man. You get injured once and now all of a sudden you’re injury-prone. People have no clue some of the things that guys have to go through in order to get back. I am just excited to get back and play ball again.”

When asked if he’s on a one-year, prove-it deal with the Colts, Burton smiled and alluded to how the Bears are still paying him $1.75 million.

“No, it’s a one-year-free-99 deal basically,” he said. “The Bears owe me a lot of money. I decided I still wanted to play ball and the Colts wanted to give me the opportunity to play. So, I felt like I still had a lot left in the tank. I feel like I still enjoy playing the game. It’s not something that I don’t want to do and it’s not something that I wake up thinking, ‘Man, I should have never done this.’

“I’m excited, I honestly am for the opportunity. To be reunited with Frank and just knowing him as a person and how great of a guy he is, no one is ever going to say anything bad about him – the state of the team. There’s a lot of factors that go into it – a really competitive team and the opportunity to go far in the playoffs. So there’s a lot of things to get excited about.”