Burris attended Temple University and finished with 20 passing records. He left the university ranked second all-time in Big East Conference passing with 7495 yards.[1]
Burris went undrafted in the NFL, and signed a contract with the CFL's Calgary Stampeders in 1997. He spent the 1997 season on the Stampeders' practice roster.
He had his first, limited playing time in 1998 in relief of Jeff Garcia and Dave Dickenson, while dressing for all of the Stampeders' games. In 1999, he received more playing time as Dickenson's backup. He replaced Dickenson in the third week game against the Edmonton Eskimos, leading the Stampeders to a come-from-behind victory. He started the following two games against the Montreal Alouettes and BC Lions, leading the Stampeders to another victory in the former. He was injured in the third quarter of the latter, and spent the rest of the season on the injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
He moved on to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for his first opportunity to be a full-time starting quarterback. He started the first 16 games of the Roughriders season, throwing for 4,647 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers took interest in him after the CFL season ended, and signed him to a contract. Burris began playing in the NFL in 2001, when he spent several weeks as the Packers' third-string quarterback, without playing in a game, before he was released, and then he spent the rest of the season on their practice squad.
Chicago Bears
He was signed by the Chicago Bears in the off-season. In six games for the Bears he completed 18 of 51 passes for 207 yards, with three touchdowns and five interceptions. He received significant playing time only in the last two games of the regular season. He was 8 of 22 for 50 yards and a touchdown against Carolina, fumbling twice, and 7 of 19 for 78 yards and four interceptions against Tampa Bay, for a 10.3 quarterback rating. While his passing was quite poor he showed better than average running ability for a quarterback, finishing the 2002 season with 15 rushes for 104 yards.
Berlin Thunder
The Bears assigned him to NFL Europe's Berlin Thunder in 2003 where he performed respectably. Unhappy with being relegated to Berlin by the Bears, he returned to the CFL and the Roughriders, his former club. He immediately became Nealon Greene's back-up. A knee injury forced him to miss the better part of the season.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Burris returned to Canada in time for the 2003 CFL season, dressing for 10 games that season. He returned his starting position in 2004, starting in 14 games over the course of the season, and leading the Roughriders to the 2004 Western Final, narrowly missing advancing to the Grey Cup. The Roughriders lost the Western Final in overtime to the favored BC Lions.
Calgary Stampeders
Burris with the Calgary Stampeders in 2006
In the off-season Burris rejected the Roughriders' contract offer in order to re-join the Calgary Stampeders. In 2005, he took the Stampeders to the Western Semifinal, where they lost at McMahon Stadium to Ricky Ray and Jason Maas of the Edmonton Eskimos. In 2006, he once again helped the Stampeders advance to the CFL playoffs, hosting their second home playoff game in as many years, but lost in the West Semifinal to his former team, the Roughriders.
In the 2007 playoffs the Stampeders once again faced off against the Roughriders in the Western Semifinal (this time played at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, where the Roughriders were hosting their first home playoff game since 1988). Burris once again lost to his former team in a close 26–24 affair.
In 2008, Burris won his first championship as a starter, leading the Calgary Stampeders to a 22–14 Grey Cup victory, over the host Montreal Alouettes. Burris also captured the title of Grey Cup Most Valuable Player and was a finalist for the league's most outstanding player award.
In 2009, Burris led the Calgary Stampeders to a second-place finish in the Western Conference. Trying to atone for a year in which he could not beat the first place Saskatchewan Roughriders (0–3–1), the Burris led Stampeders could not defeat the Roughriders in the Western Division Final, falling 27–17. This was Burris' third straight play-off loss to the Roughriders.
Burris quarterbacked the Stampeders to a CFL best record of 13–5 in 2010, finishing first in the Western Conference. Looking for revenge against his play-off nemesis, Burris lost to the Roughriders for the fourth time in the post season, 20–16. He won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award for that season.
Burris's string of professional starts ended at the end of the 2011 season, when Drew Tate replaced him as the starting quarterback for the last three scheduled regular season games. Burris performed short-yardage duties for the team as the back-up quarterback. Burris returned to quarterbacking the Calgary Stampeders in the second half of the Western Conference Semi Finals against the Edmonton Eskimos. Burris was unable to lead a second half comeback throwing only 7 completions in 15 attempts with 0 touchdowns, having to settle for multiple field goals.
Entering the off-season there had been much speculation regarding the future of Burris with the Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders seemed ready to move on and hand the starting job to Drew Tate while Burris had stated that he did not want to be a backup quarterback. The Calgary Stampeders confirmed on January 3, 2012, that they had traded Burris to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for quarterback Kevin Glenn and offensive lineman Mark Dewit.[3]
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Burris with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2013
In his first season with the Tiger-Cats, Burris had a career year. He threw for 5,367 yards and 43 touchdowns, with a passer rating of 104.4, all career highs. Unfortunately, the Tiger-Cats defense struggled, giving up an average of 32 points per game, which resulted in the team falling to 6–12 and missing the playoffs.
On September 13, 2013, midway through the 2013 CFL season, Burris became the 5th CFL quarterback to throw for 50,000 career passing yards.[4] Burris' 4,925 passing yards was enough to lead the league in passing for the second consecutive year. Burris led the Tiger-Cats into the post-season with a record of 10–8, they defeated the Montreal Alouettes and then the Toronto Argonauts, but ultimately lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 101st Grey Cup game. Entering the off-season, Burris was set to become a free-agent in February 2014 unless he re-signed with the Tiger-Cats. He expressed his desire to stay with the Ti-Cats, saying, "I want to be back here, we've had a great run. I still feel like I can get it done."[5] However, Burris was released by Hamilton on January 30, 2014, following the signing of Zach Collaros.[6]
Ottawa Redblacks
On February 4, 2014, Burris signed a three-year contract with the Ottawa Redblacks. The 2014 CFL season was Burris' worst season statistically since his 2003 year with the Roughriders. Burris led the inaugural season of the RedBlacks to a 2–16 record. His completion percentage was his lowest since 2009, and only managed to score 11 touchdowns in 18 games, while throwing 14 interceptions. He threw the first passing touchdown in Redblacks history in their first game on July 3, 2014, against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He also led the team to their first victory during their first home game of the season on July 18, 2014, against the Toronto Argonauts.
Burris returned as the starter for the 2015 season and was the only quarterback in the league to start all 18 games that year. With the addition of offensive coordinator, Jason Maas, and several key free agent signings, Burris experienced a renaissance season. On October 1, 2015, Burris set a CFL record for completions in a game connecting on 45 passes for a career-high 504 passing yards.[7] On November 7, 2015, Burris became the CFL's record holder for most completions in a season with 481 completions.[8] Additionally, Burris finished the 2015 season as the league leader in passing yards and completion percentage. He led the RedBlacks to a record of 12–6, earning a first round bye in the process. In the Eastern Final, Burris lead the Redblacks over his old team, the Tiger-Cats, personally advancing to the Grey Cup for the second time in three seasons. Prior to the Grey Cup, he was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Player for 2015.[9]
Burris left the 2016 season opening game in the third quarter after injuring the pinky finger on his throwing hand. He was replaced by backup quarterback Trevor Harris who was brought in as a free-agent during the offseason to replace the 41-year old Burris in the event of an injury or diminished performance. Initially it was reported that Burris would miss only one game,[10] however he was quickly transferred to the six-game injured list.[11] After an injury to backup quarterback Harris, Burris returned early from his hand injury to play in Weeks 6 and 7. In a halftime interview during their Week 7 match against the Eskimos Henry Burris sounded off in response to criticism from some of the TSN staff regarding his poor performance in Week 6 and the impressive play by Harris before his injury. He was quoted as saying, "So all the people talking junk out there, you can take that and shove it. All right? That's all I have to say".[12] Following a bye in Week 8 Burris started in Week 9 but was once again unable to lead the Redblacks to victory. Harris returned to the starting lineup from Week 10 through 15 with mixed results. Burris returned to the starting role in Week 17 (the fourth last week of the regular season).[13] Ottawa split their remaining 4 games, winning 2 and losing 2 to finish below .500 with a record of 8–9–1. This was the first time in CFL history that a team with a losing record finished first in their division. Following their first round bye Burris led the Redblacks to an East Division Final victory over the Edmonton Eskimos in a snowstorm, advancing the team to its second consecutive Grey Cup game.[14] In the 104th Grey Cup, Despite suffering a slight knee injury during warmups, Burris passed for 461 yards and 3 touchdowns leading the Redblacks to a 39–33 over time win over the Calgary Stampeders to win the Grey Cup for Ottawa for the first time in 40 years.[15] At the Grey Cup parade two days following the victory Burris was in crutches stating he would likely need surgery to repair his knee which he injured in warm-ups before the Grey Cup game. He also told the 40,000 fans in attendance that he would delay his decision regarding the future of his playing career until January 2017.[16]
On January 19, 2017, it was reported that Burris was leaning towards retirement, citing the desire to spend more time with his wife and help raise their children; while at the same time wanting to play in 2017 to help Ottawa win back-to-back championships at the 105th Grey Cup in Ottawa.[17] On January 24, 2017, he officially announced his retirement at a press conference.[18] He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2020.[19]
On February 21, 2017, Burris began his broadcasting career and joined CTV Morning Live Ottawa as one of the show's hosts.[20] After two years, Burris announced he would be leaving CTV Morning Live Ottawa, but would continue to be heard on TSN Radio's TSN 1200.[21] Burris was a football analyst at TSN and a panel member on the network's CFL on TSN broadcasts.[22]
Coaching career
Chicago Bears
Burris joined the coaching staff of the Chicago Bears for the team's 2020 training camp as part of the Bill Walsh diversity coaching fellowship.[23] Burris remained with the team for the duration of the 2020 season as a seasonal coaching assistant.[24] He was promoted to a full-time position as offensive quality control coach on January 25, 2021.[25]
BC Lions
On March 15, 2022, Burris joined the BC Lions as an offensive consultant.[26] After only 10 days on the job it was announced that Burris was leaving the Lions to pursue an NFL opportunity.[27]
Jacksonville Jaguars
Burris spent the 2022 season as an Offensive Quality Control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars after not being retained by Matt Eberflus who became coach of the Chicago Bears following the firing of Matt Nagy. 2022 saw the Jaguars made a large turn around on offense, spurred by the development of second year quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a breakout season by WR Christian Kirk.
Los Angeles Rams
After not being retained by the Jaguars for the 2023 season, Burris joined the Los Angeles Rams for training camp in 2023 as a tight ends coach.
Florida A&M
In April 2024, Burris was named the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Florida A&M.[28]
Personal life
Burris is married to Nicole Burris and they are the parents of two boys: Armand, who plays football at Florida A&M University, and Barron who is in high school. He was granted permanent residency in Canada on April 28, 2017, after a long bureaucratic hurdle.[29]
Marcus Cornelius Crandell is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback and coach. He was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Saskatchewan Huskies of the University of Saskatchewan. He played 11 seasons for the Edmonton Eskimos, Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1997 to 2008 while also spending time in NFL Europe and the XFL. Crandell was named the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player after the Stampeders won the 89th Grey Cup in 2001. He also won a Grey Cup championship with the Roughriders in 2007 as the team's backup quarterback.
David Dickenson is a Canadian-American professional football head coach and general manager for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played as a quarterback with the Stampeders and the BC Lions, where he won the 2006 Grey Cup and was named the game's MVP. Dickenson played college football for the Montana Grizzlies, where he led the team to the 1995 NCAA Division I-AA college football championship.
Jason Maas is an American Canadian football coach who is the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is best known for his playing career as a quarterback with the Edmonton Eskimos where he won two Grey Cup championships. He also played for the Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He has coached the Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks, and Saskatchewan Roughriders and was the head coach of the Eskimos from 2016 to 2019.
Kevin Glenn, Jr. is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football for the Illinois State Redbirds and high school football at Detroit St. Martin de Porres. Glenn is a journeyman quarterback who is the only player to ever have had his rights held by every team in the CFL.
Drew Tate is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is an offensive assistant coach for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Iowa and was signed by the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2007. Tate has played professionally for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders and Ottawa Redblacks in the CFL. He was a defensive analyst at Coastal Carolina University in 2018, before coming out of retirement to rejoin the Roughriders. On December 17, 2018, Tate retired from playing and was named quarterbacks coach for the BC Lions the following day. He has also been a coach for the TSL Alphas, and at UT Martin and the University of Northern Iowa.
Danny McManus is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He passed for over 53,000 yards in 17 seasons. He currently serves as the assistant general manager and director for U.S. scouting for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played every season in the league from 1990 to 2006, as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and finally with the Calgary Stampeders. He is a five-time Grey Cup champion, having won three times as a player and twice in a front office capacity. He is fifth all-time in passing yards in the CFL and is the all-time leading passer for the Tiger-Cats. He has also worked as a color commentator for TSN's CFL broadcasts, having previously appeared as a guest analyst on the CFL on CBC late in his playing career.
Danny Barrett is an American gridiron football coach and former player who is the running backs coach for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the interim head coach for the UCF Knights in 2015, and is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) quarterback. He has been the head coach of the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders and the running backs coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Khari Okang Jones is an American former professional Canadian football player and is the quarterbacks coach for the UBC Thunderbirds of U Sports. He was formerly the head coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Jones played quarterback in the CFL, where he enjoyed his most success with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Jones also played briefly for the Arena Football League's Albany Firebirds and the World League of American Football's Scottish Claymores. He is also a former television sports reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).He has also been the offensive coordinator for the BC Lions, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Ottawa Redblacks.
Zachary J. Collaros is an American professional football quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Collaros won the 107th Grey Cup and 108th Grey Cup as the starting quarterback with the Blue Bombers when they defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in both games. He had previously won the Grey Cup as the backup quarterback with the Toronto Argonauts in the 100th Grey Cup. Collaros played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats, and has also been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts.
Trevor Harris is an American professional football quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Harris has also played in the Arena Football League (AFL) and United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Edinboro University. As Edinboro's starting quarterback, he broke "every career passing record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference" and was a two-time finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, awarded each year to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II.
Bradley Sinopoli is a former Canadian football wide receiver who played for nine years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was originally a quarterback with the Calgary Stampeders before being converted to wide receiver in 2013. He then joined the Ottawa Redblacks where he was twice named the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian, was named an East Division All-Star three times, and a CFL All-Star in 2018. He won two Grey Cup championships, after winning with the Stampeders in 2014 and with the Redblacks in 2016, the latter of which he was also named the game's Most Valuable Canadian.
Greg Ellingson is an American professional Canadian football wide receiver who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Florida International. He has also been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans VooDoo, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Storm, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Ottawa Redblacks, Edmonton Elks, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Bo Levi Mitchell is an American professional football quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He originally signed with the Calgary Stampeders in 2012 and became the team's starting quarterback for the 2014 season, setting a number of club and league records including best record for a first time starting quarterback in league history. He won the 102nd Grey Cup in 2014, the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 2016 and 2018, and the 106th Grey Cup in 2018. With his second Grey Cup win as starter, he became the first quarterback to start and win multiple Grey Cup games with the Stampeders organization.
The 103rd Grey Cup was a Canadian football game that was played on November 29, 2015 between the East Division champion Ottawa Redblacks and the West Division champion Edmonton Eskimos to decide the Canadian Football League (CFL) championship for the 2015 season. The game was played at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Shaw Communications was the presenting sponsor of the game; it was the first time in CFL history that the Grey Cup had been sponsored. The Eskimos won the contest 26–20 to claim their 14th Grey Cup championship in franchise history and first since 2005. Mike Reilly was named Most Valuable Player and Shamawd Chambers received the Dick Suderman Trophy as Most Valuable Canadian. It was the Eskimos' first Grey Cup win that did not involve Hugh Campbell in any capacity with the organization since the 1975 Grey Cup. This was Edmonton's last Grey Cup under the "Eskimos" name before the team name was changed to the Edmonton Elks in 2020.
The 2015 CFL season was the 62nd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 58th Canadian Football League season. The Edmonton Eskimos won the 103rd Grey Cup on November 29, defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 26–20 in Winnipeg. The schedule was released February 13, 2015 and the regular season began on June 25, 2015.
The 104th Grey Cup was a Canadian football game that was played on November 27, 2016, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Redblacks, that decided the champion for the 2016 CFL season. In an upset, the Redblacks defeated the heavily favoured Stampeders 39–33 in overtime to win a championship in just their third season of existence. This was the third Grey Cup game to go into overtime. This also marked a first that a CFL team won its division with a losing record (8–9–1) and became the 3rd worst team to win the Grey Cup.
The 2016 CFL season was the 63rd season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 59th Canadian Football League season. Toronto hosted the 104th Grey Cup on November 27. The regular season began on June 23 and ended on November 5.
The 105th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 2017, between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario.
Nicholas Arbuckle is an American professional football quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also been a member of the Calgary Stampeders, Ottawa Redblacks, and Edmonton Elks. He is a two-time Grey Cup champion after winning with the Stampeders in 2018 and with the Argonauts in 2024 where he was named the Grey Cup MVP.
The 2022 CFL season was the 68th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 64th season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season began on June 9 and ended on October 29, with 18 games played per team over 21 weeks. Regina hosted the 109th Grey Cup on November 20, 2022.
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