Bengals' Jermaine Burton Aims to Be More 'Professional' After Turbulent Rookie Season

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton is looking to create more professional habits as he looks to move past a turbulent rookie season.

Jeremy Rauch of FOX19 relayed Burton's remarks Tuesday.

On the field, Burton caught just four passes for 107 yards and no touchdowns on 14 targets in 14 games. He also returned 13 kicks for 378 yards.

Off the field, the 23-year-old had multiple issues.

On Oct. 31, Burton expressed frustration with a lack of playing time, per Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Two days later, the 2024 third-rounder missed a walkthrough, leading to him being benched for the Bengals' 41-24 home win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 3. Head coach Zac Taylor spoke about the move.

"We just got to handle our business the right way, and so I can sit here and say it was a difficult decision to make him inactive, but it was absolutely the right decision with all the information we had," he said regarding the decision to make him inactive (h/t the Associated Press' Mitch Stacy).

"He's a guy who's going to have, I think, a really good career here, and we're going to support him. And he wants to help us win and do things the right way."

Two months later, Burton was benched again.

Per ESPN's Ben Baby, the Alabama product didn't travel with the team to Pittsburgh for a Jan. 4 road game with the Steelers, also due to a coach's decision. Cincinnati won 19-17.

Five days later, it was revealed Burton was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute with a woman he was dating, per Sharon Coolidge, Cameron Knight and Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton is accused of assaulting a woman he was dating, but she refused to press charges, Cincinnati police reports show," the report read.

"An assault was reported the morning of Dec. 30, just days before the Cincinnati Bengals nixed Burton from traveling with the team to Pittsburgh, the last game of the season."

The Cincinnati Enquirer also released an audio recording of a 911 call from the woman.

"He's been like pretty abusive. He does a lot of things that I don't tolerate," the woman said.

She also said that Burton wouldn't let her go into her apartment after the two had gotten into an argument.

"He wouldn't let me go inside. And he choked me (unintelligible) in the hallway," she said. "He blocked the door so I couldn't go inside, and when I did go inside, he chased me upstairs. He broke into my house. He broke my phone. This is the second time he's broken my phone in the past month."

"He broke my phone. He hit me and he left."

In addition, Burton received an eviction notice on Dec. 17, per Cameron Knight of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"Court documents state the landlord is seeking over $2,500 in rent and $75.35 per day that Burton does not leave the apartment," he wrote.

"Radius Acquisition is also seeking '$10,000 to compensate Plaintiff for injury to the premises above and beyond ordinary wear and tear,' the documents state. No further details about the damage are given."

The Bengals selected Burton with the 80th overall pick in the 2024 draft. He played at Georgia for two years before transferring to Alabama for his final two seasons.