Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Burks has enjoyed his first three practices working with Kirksey, a seventh-year pro with more than 50 career starts on his NFL resume. He's taken notice of how proficient Kirksey is in relaying calls and the aggression he plays with on the field.
At the same time, Burks knows nothing is going to be handed to him this summer. There are several other young and hungry inside linebackers competing for roles, including second-year pro Ty Summers and rookie fifth-round pick Kamal Martin.
The Packers like what they've seen from Burks so far, though.
"We've had high expectations for him and everybody else in that room, but I really think he's got a better understanding of what we're trying to get accomplished," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "And now it's up to him to put it all together, to go out and to compete each and every day and put it on the practice tape so it can transition over to game day."
Burks smiles when revisiting his "crazy offseason," but he's excited for what the rest of 2020 has to offer. It could've been easy to get down after a pair of summertime setbacks, but Burks has maintained positivity through the process.
He's thankful to his parents and wife, Jocelyn, for pulling him through the dark times and plans to use his past setbacks as motivation to prove he's still a big part of the Packers' future at the inside linebacker position.
"It's definitely tough to kind of get started with the season with a major setback, but I've always had the mindset to continue to grow and continue to get better, find ways to add value to the team," Burks said.
"Never use that as an excuse, always trying to work on my game, whether that's in the film room, helping out my football IQ, and once again, just adding value to the team wherever I can. This year I'm really excited to get back out there and continue to stay healthy."