Bryan Burnham

Bryan Burnham (born April 3, 1990) is a former American professional football wide receiver who played nine seasons for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2014 to 2022. Burnham played college football at the University of Tulsa. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the BC Lions in 2014. He is from Moorestown, New Jersey.

Bryan Burnham

No. 16
Position:	Wide receiver
Personal information
Born:	(1990-04-03) April 3, 1990 (age 34) Moorestown, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:	Moorestown (NJ)
College:	Tulsa
Undrafted:	2013
Career history
BC Lions (2014-2022)
Roster status:	retired
Career highlights and awards
3× CFL All-Star (2017, 2019, 2021) 5× CFL West All-Star (2016–2019, 2021)

College career

Burnham played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, the only NCAA Division I school that recruited him.^[1] After he developed a serious infection when he cut his arm in practice, he sat out his freshman year with redshirt status in 2008.^[1] He played as a defensive back in 2009 and 2010 before switching to the wide receiver position for his junior year. In his first year at that position, Burnham caught 54 receptions for 850 yards and a team-best nine touchdowns. Burnham was injured in the third quarter of the first game of the 2012 season against Iowa State.^[2][3] He suffered a torn ACL injury which ended his final year of NCAA eligibility.^[4] Tulsa sought a waiver from the NCAA to allow Burnham to compete in his sixth-year given the early timing of his injury, but this request and its appeal were declined.^[5]

Professional career

Burnham was signed as a free agent by BC Lions in May 2014 for the upcoming season. Initially playing on the practice squad, he made his pro debut in Week 13 against the Toronto Argonauts, in which he caught five passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.^[6] His season was cut short one week later when he suffered a lacerated spleen.^[7][8] In his second season in the CFL Burnham played in 11 games catching 35 passes 423 yards with 2 touchdowns. Burnham had a breakout season in 2016, playing in all 18 games for the first time in his career he set personal bests in catches, yards and touchdowns. His 1,392 receiving yards was fourth highest in the league that year. Burnham was set to become a free agent in February 2017. On December 6, 2016, Burnham had a workout with the Minnesota Vikings,^[9] and a workout with the New York Jets on December 15, 2016.^[10] According to BC Lions head coach Wally Buono, Burnham had workouts with somewhere between 10 and 12 NFL teams between the end of the 2016 season and January 31, 2017, at which time pending CFL free agents were no longer allowed to work out with NFL teams until their contracts expired on February 14, 2017.^[11] On February 10, 2017, Burnham and the Lions agreed to a two-year contract extension.^[12] Over the following two seasons Burnham continued to be a key part of the Lions passing attack, catching over 148 passes for 2,231 yards with 16 touchdowns. Identically to two years prior, on February 10, 2019, Burnham and the Lions agreed to a two-year contract extension.^[13] He had a career-high 100 receptions for 1,492 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns en route to being named a CFL All-Star.^[14] Following the cancellation of the 2020 season Burnham and the Lions agreed to a new contract extension on February 1, 2021.^[15] Burnham was once again named a CFL All-Star following the 2021 season, posting 67 receptions for 965 yards and five touchdowns. Burnham suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs on June 25, 2022, and it was announced he would miss the next 3-6 games.^[16] Later in the 2022 season he suffered a fractured wrist.^[17] He was placed on the six-game injured reserve list on September 26, 2022.^[18] Burnham ended up missing half the season with injuries and caught only 41 passes, his lowest total since his second season in the league (2015) in which he caught 35 passes.

On December 6, 2022, Burnham retired from professional football after nine seasons with the Lions.

Season statistics

Receiving			Regular season								Playoffs
Year	Team		Games	Rec	Att	Yards	Avg	Long	TD		Games	No.	Yards	Avg	Long	TD
2014	BC		2	6	12	113	18.8	35	1		Did not participate due to injury
2015	BC		11	35	53	423	12.1	47	2		1	1	24	24	24	0
2016	BC		18	79	106	1,392	17.6	55	6		2	5	97	19.4	34	1
2017	BC		16	81	125	1,202	14.8	53	7		Team did not qualify
2018	BC		18	67	109	1,029	15.4	55	9		1	3	35	11.7	12	0
2019	BC		17	100	146	1,492	14.9	56	11		Team did not qualify
2020	BC		Season cancelled								Season cancelled
2021	BC		14	67	93	965	14.4	61	5		Team did not qualify
2022	BC		9	41	59	569	14.5	53	4		2	6	87	14.5	26	1
CFL totals			105	476	703	7,212	15.2	61	42		6	15	243	16.2	34	2

Personal life

Burnham's father, Lem Burnham, was a defensive lineman with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1977 to 1979. He also worked as the team psychologist for the Eagles, Philadelphia 76ers and Baltimore Orioles.^[1] His brother, Lewis, played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels.^[19] He also has two sisters, the eldest Shannon, attended Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania on a basketball scholarship,^[1] Kara attended Montclair University in New Jersey where she played both basketball and volleyball. Bryan married his wife, Aubrey Burnham, in April 2018. They currently reside in Oklahoma.

References

1. Beamish, Mike (24 September 2014). . The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
2. Taylor, John (4 September 2012). "Tulsa's top receiver out with season-ending injury". NBC Sports. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
3. . Tulsa Hurricanes. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
4. Kuntz, Harold. "Athletes Face Long Recovery From Common ACL Injuries". News on 6. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
5. "NCAA rejects Bryan Burnham appeal". ESPN. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
6. "With injuries mounting, rookie WRs getting a chance with B.C. Lions". The Sports Network. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
7. Click highlights and college tabs at . BC Lions. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
8. Canadian Press (29 September 2015). "Andrew Harris out until CFL playoffs with dislocated ankle". CBC.ca. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
9. "Vikings Worked Out 5 CFL Players Including DT Michael Brooks – NFLTradeRumors.co". nfltraderumors.co. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
10. Sportsnet, Justin DunkJustin Dunk was a five-year starter at quarterback for the University of Guelph He covers the league for; 3DownNation. (2016-12-15). "Slew of CFL players worked out for New York Jets". 3DownNation. Retrieved 2016-12-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. "Mike Beamish: Lions have more than a passing interest in re-signing receiver Bryan Burnham". The Province. 2017-02-04. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
12. "Lions agree with Burnham on two-year deal – Article – TSN". TSN. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2017-02-11.
13. TSN ca Staff (2019-02-10). "Lions reportedly re-sign Burnham; re-sign Lee - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
14. "Stars Aligned: 2019 CFL All-Stars unveiled". Canadian Football League. 2019-11-27.
15. "BC Lions re-sign All-Star receiver Bryan Burnham, bring back LB Bo Lokombo for third stint - TSN.ca". TSN. The Canadian Press. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
16. TSN ca Staff (2022-06-27). "Lions WR Burnham to miss the next 3-6 weeks - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
17. TSN ca Staff (2022-09-25). "Lions' WR Burnham suffered fractured wrist in loss to Stampeders - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
18. 3Down Staff (2022-09-26). "B.C. Lions place receiver Bryan Burnham on six-game injured list". 3DownNation. Retrieved 2022-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
19. . goheels.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.

External links

• BC Lions bio
• at the Wayback Machine (archived September 23, 2015)