Who Should I Start? Treylon Burks or Jermaine Burton

Thursday, May 1, 7:14 PM

As expected, the Tennessee Titans officially did not pick up the fifth-year option for the 2026 season on wide receiver Treylon Burks (knee). The fifth-year option would have guaranteed Burks $15.493 million for the 2026 season, which is way too much to give a player that has missed significant time due to injury in his first three NFL seasons after he was taken 18th overall in 2022 out of Arkansas. The 25-year-old wideout tore the ACL in his knee in Week 6 of last year, too, and isn't expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 season this fall. Not much should be expected of him when he's able to return this year, especially after Tennessee added veterans Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson in free agency this offseason. It 27 total games played (17 starts) over three seasons, Burks has just 53 catches on 92 targets for 699 yards and only one touchdown. He'll be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025 season.

Thursday, January 30, 2:42 PM

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton was selected with the No. 80 overall pick (third round) in the 2024 NFL Draft after a strong final season at Alabama. However, the 23-year-old played sparingly in his rookie season and caught just four passes for 107 yards on 14 targets in 14 games. At the Senior Bowl this year, Bengals director of player personnel spoke on Burton's status with the organization. "He's done nothing, and he's going to have to start doing something quickly. We knew we were taking a risk. We felt comfortable that we could help him through some of the challenges he's had in the past, and we're going to continue to try to help him," Tobin said. "But this is professional football, and you have to take accountability, and you have to be accountable to your teammates, your coaches, and the team that you're playing for, and he has to figure that out." Burton notably did not travel with the team for a must-win game against the Pittsburgh Steelers late in the 2024 campaign and seems to be falling out of favor with the coaching staff and front office quickly. The speedster could be at risk of being released or traded before the next regular season.