Did we give up too soon on the 2024 third-rounder?
It’s hard to imagine a more troubling rookie season than what Jermaine Burton had, and this is coming from a Cincinnati Bengals fan. I mean seriously, we lived through John Ross, Jackson Carman, Cedric Ogbuehi, and countless players who spent their first season on IR.
Burton may just take the cake. It started moments after he was drafted when his former head coach, a usually stoic Nick Saban, noticeably cringed. Saban praised neither the pick nor the player. He didn’t even talk about potential. He simply stated that Burton had a lot of maturing to do.
It continued with missed walkthroughs, healthy scratches, evictions, and worst of all, an alleged domestic assault.
I don’t think it is a stretch to say that most Bengals fans were ready to move on from Burton, but the Bengals were not.
Then: Silence.
Let’s face it, when it comes to Burton, no news is good news.
We went almost five months without hearing his name, which means he went the same amount of time without getting himself in trouble.
Now, there have been many whispers coming out of OTAs that Burton may be on the right track. Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow have praised him. Burton has talked about his mistakes and the mentorship he has received from veterans like Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and B.J. Hill, of all people.
He has a long way to go before he earns the trust of anybody, but don’t we all love a redemption story?
Matt and Willie break down the Jermaine Burton Saga from New Moon to Breaking Dawn.
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