The Cleveland Browns have not seen a productive start to the 2025 NFL season from their group of wide receivers.
Presumptive No. 1 receiver Jerry Jeudy, who is struggling with drops, has just 15 receptions, no touchdowns, and has yet to break 70 receiving yards in a game. Cedric Tillman, the No. 2 receiver by default, is once again on the injured reserve list and will miss at least three more games while dealing with a hamstring.
The rest of the position group is extremely unproven, with rookie Isaiah
Bond (nine receptions for 114 yards), Jamari Thrash (five receptions for 40 yards), Malachi Corley (no receptions), and Gage Larvadain (no receptions) currently filling out the room.
NFL rosters are constantly changing as general managers pick through castoffs from other teams in the hope of discovering a player just waiting for a new opportunity to “unlock their potential.”
Which brings us to wide receiver Treylon Burks, whom the Tennessee Titans selected with the No. 18 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.
It has been a rough go for Burks in Nashville as he has battled injuries that led him to spend time on the injured reserve list in 2022 and 2024.
It was more of the same this summer as Burks suffered a broken collarbone in training camp, which led the Titans to release him with an injury designation. Burks went unclaimed, however, and reverted to Tennessee’s injured reserve list.
Burks is healthy now, or at least has received medical clearance to resume football activities, but the Titans are not interested in a reunion and have reportedly released the former-first-round selection.
In three seasons with the Titans, Burks saw his production drop from 33 receptions for 444 yards and a touchdown as a rookie to just 20 combined receptions for 255 yards and no touchdowns while dealing with those injuries. And playing with the likes of quarterbacks Malik Willis, Joshua Dobbs, Will Levis, and Mason Rudolph certainly could not have helped.
So, should the Browns be willing to take a shot at bringing in Burks to see if he has anything left to give?
Burks does not have much mileage on his body after playing in just 27 games with the Titans. But his injury history is a factor, as the Browns are already dealing with a wide receiver who has trouble staying healthy in Tillman.
Still, Burks did have success at the collegiate level at Arkansas, where he had a combined 117 receptions for 1,924 yards and 18 touchdowns in his final two seasons with the Razorbacks.
That was four years ago, however, which in NFL terms is a long time. So it is fair to question whether or not Burks just needs a fresh start, or if what he showed with the Titans is more reflective of what he is as a wide receiver at the NFL level.
The Browns can use all the help they can get, but they may be better off focusing on figuring out what is going on with Jeudy and developing the young guys they already have, rather than taking on the responsibility of helping Burks jumpstart his career.
What do you think, Browns fans? Should the team “kick the tires” on Burks or focus on developing the players they already have on the roster? Let us know in the comments!
