Bengals realize their risk will not be rewarded after reaching the final straw with Jermaine Burton
The Cincinnati Bengals have released wide receiver Jermaine Burton. Head coach Zac Taylor announced the move during his weekly Monday press conference.“We’re releasing Jermaine today,” Taylor told reporters. “Just a decision to make. We just made it, gonna release him and move on and wish him the best.” Burton, one of Cincinnati’s two third-round picks […]
The Cincinnati Bengals have released wide receiver Jermaine Burton. Head coach Zac Taylor announced the move during his weekly Monday press conference.
“We’re releasing Jermaine today,” Taylor told reporters. “Just a decision to make. We just made it, gonna release him and move on and wish him the best.”
Burton, one of Cincinnati’s two third-round picks from the 2024 NFL Draft, has not been active for a single week this regular season. He played in 14 games as a rookie in 2024 and logged four receptions for 107 yards along with 13 kickoff returns for 378 yards.
The reasons why Burton couldn’t get on the field are why he’s no longer a Bengal not even two years after he was drafted.
Bengals pull the plug on the failed Jermaine Burton experiment
Cincinnati took a risk the moment Burton’s name was written on the card for the 80th overall pick in the 2024 draft. The former Georgia and Alabama wideout was immensely talented coming out of college, but a myriad of off-field concerns plagued his profile. Him dropping to the third-round was not considered a surprise by many in draft circles last year.
Burton was not just given a chance by the Bengals, his new head coach was emphatic to draft him. Taylor was seen banging his chair’s arm rests after calling Burton right before the pick was made, a rare level of excitement from Taylor throughout his years in Cincinnati’s war room.
Taylor and the Bengals believed they were getting a steal in Burton, a player who fell through the cracks because of issues they either overlooked or thought could be handled. T.J. Houshmanzadeh, who played for the franchise from 2001-08, was Burton’s personal coach for years leading up to the draft and his connection to Burton was utilized in vetting the young pass-catcher.
Their risk was not rewarded.
Burton at least played as a rookie, but was kept out of two games due to his own actions. He was inactive one week due to missing walkthrough, and kept him another week due to an off-field incident. Director of player personnel Duke Tobin bluntly stated Burton had everything to prove after doing nothing in his first year a few weeks after the season concluded.
He stayed out of the news this year, but couldn’t earn back trust to actually dress for game days. It looked very bleak, and then the last week proved to be the last straw.
Why the Bengals released Jermaine Burton before the 2025 season ended
Burton was suspended by Cincinnati leading into Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills. The team did not reveal the reasoning behind the suspension, but Burton did not travel with the Bengals to Western New York.
However many strikes Burton had at his disposal, he exhausted the last one with his suspension. The decision to release him is costing the club $790,035 in dead money against the salary cap, and his suspension cost him $59,320.88.
Burton can be claimed by the 31 other teams off waivers, but the odds of that happening are essentially zero. Claiming Burton would mean claiming his rookie contract with two years left on it after this season, and it’s highly unlikely any organization is going to commit to that after the events that have unfolded this year.