Cincinnati's rookie receiver is looking to bounce back from a major mistake.
Cincinnati Bengals rookie pass-catcher Jermaine Burton made headlines for the wrong reasons in Week 9 of the 2024 NFL season as he was basically benched by the Bengals for their matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders after he reportedly missed practice the day before the game.
Burton was expected to be featured in the offensive game plan against Las Vegas, but instead he spent the course of the contest on the sideline in a hoodie. Burton was back in action the following week against the Baltimore Ravens, and he caught one pass for 11 yards against them.
Jermaine Burton ready to move on after Week 9 benching
Heading into Cincinnati's pivotal Week 11 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football, Burton opened up about the mistake that led to his benching, how the team helped him moved forward, and how the situation has improved.
“The mistake I made, those guys did such a good job keeping my head right,” Burton said. “When you make certain mistakes it's like 'Ah, Ah, it keeps you down.' You still gotta move on and be better, know that it's better days ahead, and thankfully, I have guys around me like how I do that keep my head away from everything else such as like media and all of that stuff so I feel like everything is good.
"Things are going to happen, you’ll mess up, and everybody makes mistakes,” Burton added. “As long as you can get up the next day and still put your best foot forward then I don’t think it really matters, I think you’ll be in a good spot.”
At the end of the day, rookies are going to make mistakes. The important thing is learning from those mistakes and not repeating them. Hopefully Burton is able to do just that, because he certainly appears to have the talent to be a solid receiver in the league. That fact isn't lost on Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow.
“Jermaine is going to be a good player," Burrow said of Burton. "He continues to get open and we are going to continue that dialogue that quarterbacks and receivers have to have.”
The Bengals haven't needed to lean on Burton much this season with the likes of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Mike Gesicki on the roster. However, Higgins and Gesicki could both be gone after the current campaign, so ultimately the Bengals are going to need Burton to step up and become a key piece of the offense. Will he be up to the task? Only time will tell.
