Jermaine Burton missed practice on Sunday at the Cincinnati Bengals’ training camp. The Bengals said the former Alabama wide receiver would be day-to-day with an injury. The team did not provide the nature of the injury.
A media outlet covering the NFL team included that information under the headline: “Another red flag? Troubled Bengals wide receiver Burton not at practice.”
Burton is preparing for his second NFL season. As third-round draft pick in 2024, Burton had a rookie season that featured being demoted three times to game-day inactive (once for missing a meeting and a walkthrough and another time after a domestic incident involving the police) and court action involving an eviction.
At the end of Cincinnati’s offseason program, Burton said he “learned a lot of things last year.”
“You really got to be a professional in this league,” Burton said.
Now Burton indicated he hoped some of the media covering the Bengals would do the same.
Burton reacted to some of the reporting on his practice absence by issuing an injury update and a scolding via social media on Monday.
“Several posts and headlines have circulated regarding my absence from on the field yesterday,” Burton said. “Unfortunately, some of these reports have omitted important context, leading to false assumptions about my commitment and character.
“To be clear, my absence was due to injury, not for any other reason. Any suggestion otherwise is simply untrue. I take my role with the Bengals and my preparation for this season seriously, and I am focused on recovering and getting back on the field as soon as possible.
“I appreciate those in the media who report responsibly and truthfully. For those who do not, understand that misleading headlines, your clickbait articles at the expense of my reputation and selective wording have real impacts not just on me, but on my family, teammates and fans.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with support. I’ll be back out there soon, and I look forward to continuing to work hard for this team and our fans.”
In two seasons at Alabama, Burton had 79 receptions for 1,475 yards and 15 touchdowns and four rushing attempts for 50 yards. With the Bengals in 2024, Burton had four receptions for 107 yards and a 29.1-yard average on 13 kickoff returns.
In Cincinnati’s 34-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in its preseason opener on Thursday night, Burton caught a pass for a 3-yard gain, returned a punt 32 yards and had kickoff returns of 24 and 18 yards. He was on the field for 19 offensive snaps and six special-teams plays.
“He made a lot of plays early in camp,” Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said on Sunday about Burton. “Jermaine’s best when you can get him in a true one-on-one matchup down the sideline. He can track the ball in the air. He’s got tremendous ball skills. Didn’t have a lot of opportunity to show that the other night.
“So again, 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 we go about our day-to-day professional job? And that will just continue to be the emphasis with him.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Burton might have gotten hurt during the preseason game. He described the injury as “some swelling.”
“He’ll do some rehab work on the rehab field today,” Taylor said on Tuesday. “… He’s doing everything he can to get back on the field.”
Cincinnati will play the second of its three preseason games at 7 p.m. CDT Monday, when the Bengals square off against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. ESPN will televise the game.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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