Bengals already seeing new benefits from paying Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins through Jermaine Burton's development

The Cincinnati Bengals aren't expecting anything different on the field from Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The club paid both star wide receivers massive contracts to make the same remarkable plays they're accustomed to making.

Anything more they're expected to give will happen off the field, even right now in the heart of the offseason.

Regardless of industry, seeing your pay rise at your job typically leads to having more on your plate. NFL players becoming among the highest paid in their locker room is really no different. Those guys are the examples to follow for dozens of young players looking to have similar careers. Not all of them are—or have to be—natural leaders, but they will naturally have others gravitate toward them.  

Cincinnati is starting to see this with Chase and Higgins through the eyes of Jermaine Burton.

Burton's 2024 season was rough by every which standard. He hardly produced and played as a receiver, he was a healthy scratch in multiple weeks including once for missing a Saturday walkthrough, and dealt with non-football related issues in his personal life.

It reached a point where the man who drafted him, director of player personnel Duke Tobin, signaled he was already on his last lifeline.

Burton needed to change his ways, and according to him, Chase and Higgins have already helped with that.

"Chase and Tee have done a really good job helping me in and out of the facility," Burton told reporters after Tuesday's OTA session. "Talking with me, coming up with better ways, listening to some of their habits and ways they stay consistent."