Burnett attended Junípero Serra High School in Gardena, California.[1] He was rated as a three-star recruit and was not a highly recruited player coming out of high school.[2] He committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play college football. Burnett was offered a blueshirt scholarship on the day of signing day, and chose to commit to the school he dreamed of playing for as a kid.[3]
College career
As a true freshman at USC in 2015, Burnett appeared in all but two of the Trojans' games. He was a backup receiver, finishing the year with 10 receptions for 161 yards. He led the team in receiving against California with 3 receptions for 82 yards.[4] In his sophomore season at USC in 2016, Burnett broke out as one of the top-three targets for the Trojans. He appeared in all 13 games, started the last 5 as the slot receiver, and finished with 56 receptions for 622 yards with 7 touchdowns. He added on with 3 carries for 31 yards. Deontay Burnett broke out in the 2017 Rose Bowl Game, where he caught 13 passes for 164 yards and 3 touchdowns. Burnett was given numerous post-season accolades, as he made the 2016 AP All-Bowl Team first-team, ESPN All-Bowl Team first-team and ESPN Pac-12 All-Bowl Team first-team.[5]
On September 3, 2018, Burnett was signed to the New York Jets' practice squad.[10] He was released on September 21, 2018, but was re-signed four days later.[11] He was promoted to the active roster on October 20, 2018.[12] Burnett made his NFL debut on October 21, 2018, in a 37–17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, catching one pass for nine yards.[13] In Week 8 against the Chicago Bears, Burnett finished with a team high of both 61 receiving yards and 4 receptions as the Jets lost 10–24.
On August 31, 2019, Burnett was waived by the Jets.[14]
San Francisco 49ers
On October 16, 2019, Burnett was signed to the San Francisco 49ers practice squad.[15] He was released on December 10, 2019.[16]
Philadelphia Eagles
Burnett was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad on December 12, 2019. He was promoted to the active roster on December 24, 2019.[17] In week 17, he caught 2 passes for 48 yards in the 34–17 win against the Giants.
Burnett was waived on September 3, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad three days later.[18][19] He was elevated to the active roster on September 26 and October 3 for the team's weeks 3 and 4 games against the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[20][21] He was placed on the practice squad/COVID-19 list by the team on November 19, 2020,[22] and restored to the practice squad on December 3.[23] In total, Burnett played in 2 games, and had 3 receptions for 19 yards. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on January 4, 2021.[24] He was waived with a non-football injury designation on March 23, 2021.[25]
