Burton suffered from a variety of ailments during the 2019 calendar year. He was a late scratch from the Bears' wild-card round loss to Eagles on Jan. 6, 2019 after surprisingly landing on the injury report with a groin problem. He then had surgery to repair a sports hernia in the offseason and was sidelined for much of training camp and the preseason leading up to the 2019 regular season.
Burton then had 14 catches while playing in just eight games in 2019, which ended with him undergoing hip surgery after landing on injured reserve. On Friday, Burton didn't specify which of his injuries was misdiagnosed ahead of the 2019 season or by whom, though it was his groin that was slowing him over the summer.
On Tuesday, Bears general manager Ryan Pace cited injuries as the primary reason for parting ways with Burton. Busy amid NFL Draft preparation, the Bears haven't yet responded to Burton's claim that he was misdiagnosed and then rushed back. The Bears made a point to be cautious with Burton during training camp last summer.
Burton, 28, wants to shed the label that he's injury-prone.
"It's tough, man. You know, you get injured once, and then all of a sudden you're 'injury prone,'" he continued. "And people have no clue some of the things that guys have to go through in order to get back, so I'm just excited to get back and to play ball again."
Burton originally signed with the Bears on a four-year, $32-million deal in March 2018. He had 54 receptions for 569 yards and six touchdowns in in a full 16-game regular season in 2018 before missing the team's playoff loss.