It’s a common thing for NFL players to keep a chip on their shoulder when they feel like they get slighted, which happens all the time when they feel as if they’ve been passed on and slid in the draft.
Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III can now add his name to the list of players with that chip on their shoulder, after he fell to the Bears with the 39th overall pick in the draft.
“No, that’s staying with me forever,” Burden said of the feeling he had after being passed over by so many teams, according to ESPN. “Everybody who passed up on me gotta pay.”
The people in the Bears’ building aren’t going to complain about Burden having a little extra motivation. Bears head coach Ben Johnson is already excited about what Burden can bring to the table at the professional level.
“A dangerous player, a weapon, call him what you want, but I see big things in his future,” Johnson said of the young wideout.
Burden is joining a crowded wide receiver room, but Bears general manager Ryan Poles likes the environment it’ll create for the young wide receiver.
“[If] I can’t emphasize anything else, I’ll go back to Ben’s deal about being comfortable being uncomfortable,” general manager Ryan Poles said. “Like there’s some guys that are going to have to grind a little bit harder than probably they ever had before. So I think it’s going to push everyone to be really good.”
It’ll be interesting to see what sort of career Burden III is able to carve out for himself.
