Prescott Ennis Burgess (born March 6, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

special teamer In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He was drafted by the Ravens in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He has had three stints with the team. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Burgess has also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Early years

Burgess attended

Warren G. Harding High School Warren G. Harding High School is a public high school in Warren, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Warren City School District. Sports teams are called the Raiders, and they compete in the Ohio High School Athletic Associatio ...

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 census. The his ...

, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

. He ranked among the nation's best linebackers and defensive backs.

College career

After graduating from high school, Burgess attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He started 20 of the 46 games he played in, and was named an All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

honorable mention in his junior (2005) and senior (2006) seasons.

Professional career

First stint with Ravens

Burgess was drafted in the sixth round (207th overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. He played in his first eight games for

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, recording four tackles before being placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with a hip injury on November 14. He missed the entire 2008 season, after being placed on injured reserve on August 11 with a broken forearm. Burgess played in the first two games of the 2009 season for the Ravens, picking up two tackles.

New England Patriots

Burgess was traded to the

on September 22, 2009 in exchange for a conditional seventh round draft choice. He was inactive for the Patriots' Week 3 game and waived on September 28. The trade was conditioned on the games Burgess was active for the Patriots; therefore, the Ravens did not receive any compensation from the Patriots. He was re-signed to the Patriots'

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 30, in advance of their Week 4 against the Ravens, who would have not been allowed to sign Burgess back off the Patriots' practice squad because of this matchup.

Second stint with Baltimore Ravens

On October 5, the day after their game with the Patriots, the Ravens signed Prescott Burgess off the Patriots' practice squad to take the place of Brendan Ayanbadejo, who went on injured reserve. Burgess continued his role as a backup with

in and .

Third stint with Baltimore Ravens

On September 3, 2011, Burgess was released during final cuts. He was re-signed by the

on September 28, when

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

Dominique Foxworth Domonique Foxworth (born March 27, 1983) is a former American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Foxworth played college football for the University of Maryland. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the thir ...

was placed on

. Burgess was active for one game, with no statistics. He was waived again on October 4, after

signed

Bryan McCann Bryan McCann (born September 29, 1987) is a former American football cornerback. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Southern Methodist University. Early years McCann was born ...

. He was re-signed on October 18. He was placed on Injured Reserve November 2, 2011 and the team signed Edgar Jones as a replacement. He was taken off Injured Reserve on December 3, 2011 and immediately released from the team. While not seeing much time on defense during his stints with the Ravens, he did establish himself as a special teams standout, becoming one of their top tacklers in that unit.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Prescott 1984 births Living people Players of American football from Warren, Ohio American football linebackers Michigan Wolverines football players Baltimore Ravens players New England Patriots players Warren G. Harding High School alumni