With star receiver Tee Higgins out with a quad injury, the Cincinnati Bengals were prepared to center rookie third-round receiver Jermaine Burton in their game plan for the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Instead, he may have severed all of their trust in a tight spot.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bengals made Burton a late healthy scratch on Sunday after he missed the important final Saturday walk-through. Needless to say, you can’t miss practice without a reasonable excuse when your team is already counting on you to show up and perform.
In response, Burton didn’t show much maturity. He still showed up to the Bengals’ stadium while wearing pajamas and seemingly pretending as if nothing happened:
Jermaine Burton arrives before today’s game against the Raiders. pic.twitter.com/xbslST0Qoa
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) November 3, 2024
The Bengals are 3-5 and essentially have no margin for error if they still want to make the playoffs. The last thing they could afford was a young player who did not take any accountability for his job and his mistakes. As a result, Burton may have cost himself much more than a simple one-game healthy scratch.
