The Cincinnati Bengals have officially given up on yet another reclamation project, waiving former third-round WR Jermaine Burton yesterday. Hoping to land premium talents in lower rounds, the organization has overlooked character concerns, some working out, some not. Given that Burton didn’t even make it halfway through his rookie contract, this one is easy to evaluate.
In 2022, Jermaine Burton struck a fan on the field after a victory with Alabama. It’s not the first player the Bengals have drafted after infamously punching somebody, and probably won’t be the last, either. But Burton’s problems continued in the NFL, exposing a pattern of immaturity.