Jermaine Burton's Disappointing Second Season With Bengals Continues, Not Traveling to Pittsburgh

Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton didn't travel with the team to Pittsburgh. He's been dealing with an illness for the majority of the past two weeks.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Burton is dealing with a stomach issue.

The second year pro was hoping to bounce back after an underwhelming rookie campaign. He finished with four catches for 107 yards last season. The Bengals took Burton in the third round (80th overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft.

It hasn't been better this year. Burton hasn't been active for a game. He's been healthy for the majority of the season, but hasn't found his way onto the field.

"He made a lot of plays early in camp. Jermaine's best when you when you can get him in a true one-on-one matchup down the sideline," Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said in August. "He can track the ball in the air. He's got tremendous ball skills, [he] didn't have a lot of opportunity to show that the other night. The single word I keep coming back to Jermaine is just consistency, right? You don't have a lot of opportunity the other night. How do we respond? How do how do we go about our day-to-day professional job? And that's that's we'll just continue to be the emphasis with him."

Burton's inability to be consistent has cost him a chance to get on the field and contribute. Burton has rare ability to make plays downfield and his play style should compliment Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins well.

That hasn't been the case since the Bengals shocked everyone when they picked Burton in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

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