Stephen Burton (born December 11, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver. He was drafted by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

in the seventh round of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York ...

. He played college football at

West Texas A&M West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It was established on S ...

. On April 23, 2014, Burton had retired due to concussion concern.

Early years

Burton attended Artesia High School in

Lakewood, California Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, a ...

where he received offensive Player of the Year honors as a wide receiver and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

. Although having great talent at wide receiver, Burton was offered no scholarships from any college. He eventually chose to attend the Junior College,

Long Beach City College Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...

College years

While attending Long Beach, Burton played wide receiver and was the kick returner for the team. In 2007, he was named team MVP and won Second-team All-Conference as a wide receiver. After playing for Long Beach for his freshman and sophomore years, Burton decided to transfer to

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. However, Burton was unable to obtain enough credits to transfer and eventually decided to attend the Division II school,

. In his first season playing in a

spread offense :''"Spread offense" may also refer to the four corners offense in basketball.'' The spread offense is an offensive scheme in gridiron football that typically places the quarterback in the shotgun formation, and "spreads" the defense horizonta ...

at West Texas A&M, he had three 100-yard receiving games. During his second year Burton had three 100-yard receiving games again and also had 70 receptions for 1,021 yards and 11

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

Professional career

2011 NFL Combine

Minnesota Vikings

Burton was drafted by the Vikings in the seventh round of the

. He was signed to the Minnesota Vikings' active roster on October 25, 2011. His promotion was in response to the Vikings releasing wide receiver

Bernard Berrian Bernard Berrian (born December 27, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State. Berrian also played for the Minne ...

. Burton scored his first NFL touchdown with the Vikings on September 16, 2012 against the Indianapolis Colts. It was a 6-yard reception that was tipped by tight end Kyle Rudolph. Burton was released by the Vikings on August 31, 2013 (along with 18 others) to get to a 53-man roster.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Burton was claimed off waivers by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

on September 1, 2013. He was placed on injured reserve on December 9, 2013 due to a concussion. On April 23, 2014, Burton retired at the age of 24 due to concussion concerns.

Calgary Stampeders

On January 26, 2015, Burton unretired and signed a contract with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On May 11, 2017, Burton signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play their h ...

of the

. He was placed on the suspension list on May 28, 2017, and his contract expired at the end of the season.

References

External links

*
Minnesota Vikings bio

West Texas A&M football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Stephen 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Lakewood, California Players of Canadian football from California American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers American players of Canadian football Long Beach City Vikings football players West Texas A&M Buffaloes football players Minnesota Vikings players Jacksonville Jaguars players Calgary Stampeders players Artesia High School (California) alumni