The Cincinnati Bengals, at least so far, are seeing what they need to see from second-year wideout Jermaine Burton.
Burton’s future with the team had been called into question after a disaster of a rookie year, capped off with Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin’s telling comments about him at the scouting combine in February.
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But right now, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor says that Burton has been doing everything the right way this offseason.
“All he can handle is the present at this point,” Taylor told reporters. “I think he’s done a good job of that this offseason. He’s been in the building. He’s in the building outside of work hours, doing his own thing, prehabbing to get his body right. He has attacked practice the right way, and that is what you can control right now, so I appreciate that much.”
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Perceived as a character risk in the third round in 2024, but with first-round upside, among other hiccups, Burton infamously reportedly no-showed a Saturday walkthrough despite his involvement in the gameplan with Tee Higgins injured. There were multiple reported off-field incidents, too.
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When he was drafted, Burton was viewed as a possible long-term Higgins replacement, should all go well. Instead, the Bengals re-upped with both star receivers this offseason and he’s left attempting to regain the trust of Taylor and the organization.
On that front, at least, it’s so far, so good for Burton.
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Jermaine Burton vibes around Bengals shift again