CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Second-year Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton, who had a troubled rookie season on and off the field, was not on hand for Sunday’s practice.

A team spokesperson said Burton is dealing with an undisclosed injury and is considered day-to-day. Burton was not seen getting hurt in Saturday’s grueling late afternoon practice that ran from 2-4:15 p.m. Sunday’s practice ran from 10 a.m.-noon with players slated to report for meetings at 8:30 a.m.

There were major red flags surrounding the wide receiver entering the 2024 draft, which is a reason he slipped to the third round where he was selected by the Bengals. Burton politely answered questions about those red flags when he met with reporters the day after he was taken and seemed to put those issues to rest. Instead problems arose in training camp when quarterback Joe Burrow said Burton needed to study the playbook more and there were reports of Burton sleeping in team meetings.

Then came the regular season where he got scant playing time, participating in only 131 offensive snaps and recording four receptions for 108 yards.

He also blew his chance at the one time the team planned to utilize him significantly in the Week 9 game against the Las Vegas Raiders due to an injury to Tee Higgins. Burton missed morning meetings on the Friday leading up to the game. Head coach Zac Taylor was still planning to play him, because the team was so deep into the game plan for the week. Then Burton no-showed for the Saturday morning walk-through and was placed on the inactive list for the game.

He was also left home for the regular-season finale at Pittsburgh. The team made that announcement on the Friday before that game and announced the decision was made by Taylor, which signified Burton likely had messed up again.

There were also off-field issues, including twice being evicted from his apartment and being accused of assault on Dec. 30, although no charges were filed.

Burton surprised reporters during the NFL Draft by showing up at Paycor Stadium, and he looked different than he did during the season when he almost had a Zombie-like appearance and always looked tired. During the draft he looked refreshed and was trying to put his best foot forward.

Following the team’s Organized Team Activity practice on June 4, he stood at his locker for almost 10 minutes and answered questions about his tumultuous rookie season and how he plans to turn his situation into a positive moving forward. “I am in a really good head space right now,” Burton said. “I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be back around my guys and happy to still be learning my guys and building better relationships with them. I honestly couldn’t be happier.”

He credited wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and defensive tackle B.J. Hill for mentoring him. “Chase and Tee have done a real good job talking with me about ways they stay consistent,” said Burton.

Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher wouldn’t shed further light on Burton’s injury, but said there are things he can do to stay engaged while not participating in practice.

“The single word I keep coming back to with Jermaine is just consistency,” said Pitcher. “How do we go about our day-to-day professional job and that will just continue to be the emphasis with him. I mean when you’re unable to practice, obviously that’s frustrating, so I just know he’s day to day, so I don’t know if he’s going to be back out here (Tuesday when the team practices next) or when, but when you’re not able to perform physically, that’s only part of your job. It’s staying in the book, it’s being engaged in meetings. It’s doing all those things that we expect.”