Treylon Burks' NFL road has not been easy.
The former first-round pick is coming off a torn ACL suffered during a special teams drill last October, the latest speed bump in a career thus far filled with them, but he's motivated by the voice inside to come back better and finally establish himself with the Titans.
"I am not going out to prove nobody wrong, I am going out to prove myself right," Burks said during Tennessee's mandatory minicamp, per the team's website. "I tore my ACL [last October] and I am running. I am running routes, doing everything within those seven months."
Burks said he's ahead of schedule in his recovery, and head coach Brian Callahan echoed that message last week, telling reporters the fourth-year wideout will hopefully be cleared and full-go for training camp.
But there's more for Burks to overcome than just injury.
He has years of underperforming to rewrite, going from the 2022 draft's No. 18 overall pick to a player who needed to boost his snap count with special teams usage last season.
Burks' first offseason in Tennessee was disrupted by conditioning concerns and dealing with asthma. He was limited in the Titans' organized team activities and held out of mandatory minicamp, thereafter failing to find his footing as a rookie -- even though that campaign remains his best as a pro.
He logged 33 catches for 444 yards and a touchdown that year. He has 699 receiving yards with the lone TD on 53 catches in 27 career games to this point.
Burks has missed time due to concussions and also an LCL sprain two seasons ago.
After Callahan took over head-coaching duties in 2024, he said ahead of training camp that Burks was going to need to contribute on special teams, signaling the young WR might be closer to the bottom of the depth chart than he'd been previously. Burks indeed saw additional time as a special teamer, participating in 9.3% of the team's special teams plays last season. His offensive snap percentage dropped from 62.1 the season prior to 47.9.
Then came the ACL injury in practice, which he called a "freak accident."
Initially downtrodden after another setback, Burks is now using it as motivation, something he'll need no shortage of in a contract year after having his fifth-year option declined.
"I never questioned God, like, 'Why me?," he said. "But it did put the mindset in my head, on if I still love the game, because it comes with a lot. And, just from going out every day, seeing what the guys are going through, watching it from home, it made me miss it more, and [now I want] to honor it.
"Every day that I am here at this facility, and every day that I am working, I don't take it for granted. It means a lot more to me now. I'm not saying it didn't mean a lot before, but it definitely means more now."
Tennessee's offseason program now finished, Burks' next step in recovery and redemption involves continuing to gear up for training camp, with eyes on a July 22 report date.
Once there and whenever he's fully cleared, he must prove to himself -- and the Titans -- he's worthy of a spot in the WR room.
Calvin Ridley remains the team's No. 1 receiving option for rookie quarterback Cam Ward, joined by veteran free-agent additions Tyler Lockett and Van Jefferson and a pair of new fourth-round draftees -- Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor.
Burks will be in the mix alongside them, equipped with a renewed outlook and hoping to help the Titans end a three-year postseason drought.
