Juston Burris (born August 4, 1993) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the NC State Wolfpack and was selected by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the fourth round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. He played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the Jets,

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Early life

Burris was selected to the NCPreps.com 4A all-state and All-conference teams in his senior season. He scored 11

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and had just under 1,000 receiving yards, 40

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and three

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s in his senior year. He was also selected to the NC vs SC Shrine Bowl, making him All-State.

College career

At NC State, Burris started 28 straight games at

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. As a junior, he was sixth on the team in tackles and led the team in pass break ups.

Professional career

New York Jets

On April 30, 2016, Burris was selected by the

in the fourth round (118th overall) in the

. On September 10, 2017, in the season opener against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, Burris recorded an interception off of quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Burris's play occurred on the Jets' own 8-yard line and ended a long opening drive from the Bills. On October 27, 2018, Burris was waived by the Jets and re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

Cleveland Browns (first stint)

Burris was signed off the Jets' practice squad by the

on November 7, 2018. On April 1, 2019, Burris re-signed with the Browns. He was waived on September 1.

Oakland Raiders

On September 13, 2019, Burris signed with the

, but was waived six days later.

Cleveland Browns (second stint)

Burris was claimed off waivers by the Browns on September 20, 2019. In Week 11 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

on '' Thursday Night Football'', Burris sacked Mason Rudolph once and intercepted a pass thrown by Rudolph in the 21–7 win.

Carolina Panthers

On March 20, 2020, Burris signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the

. He was named the Panthers' starting safety to start the season. He started the first six games before suffering an injury to his ribs in Week 6. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on October 20. He was activated on November 14. Burris entered the 2021 season as the Panthers' starting strong safety. He was placed on injured reserve on September 28, 2021. He was activated on November 13. On March 24, 2022, Burris re-signed with the Panthers on a one-year deal. He was released on August 30 and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 5.

Post–playing career

On June 9, 2023, Burris was hired by the

as a scouting intern.

References

External links

NC State Wolfpack bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burris, Juston 1993 births Living people American football cornerbacks Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players NC State Wolfpack football players Needham B. Broughton High School alumni New York Jets players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Raleigh, North Carolina