Bengals release WR Jermaine Burton after he was suspended for Bills game, marking latest off-field issue

Jermaine Burton's time in Cincinnati is over.

The Bengals released Burton on Monday, just one day after he was suspended ahead of their 39-34 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Burton did not make the trip to Buffalo with the team on Sunday, and he was ruled out prior to the game for non-injury reasons.

Further specifics on his suspension are not yet known. Burton also missed the team's win over the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving due to an ankle injury.

Burton, who the Bengals selected in the third round of the 2024 draft out of Alabama, had just four catches for 107 yards during his rookie season. He has not played at all this season.

Burton was not allowed to travel to the team's final game last season due to off-field issues, which led to coach Zac Taylor saying at the time that Burton needed to clean up his act.

He's done nothing, and he's going to have to start doing something quickly," Bengals director of personnel Duke Tobin said of Burton after his rookie season, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. We knew we were taking a risk. We felt comfortable that we could help him through some of the challenges he's had in the past, and we're going to continue to try to help him.

"But this is professional football, and you have to take accountability, and you have to be accountable to your teammates, your coaches, and the team that you're playing for, and he has to figure that out. He's got to figure that out fast."

While it's unknown what actually led to this suspension, the first of Burton's career, things apparently never got better between the two sides. Now, Burton will have the opportunity for a fresh start elsewhere in the league.

The Bengals fell to 4-9 with their loss to the Bills on Sunday, which marked their fifth loss in six games. They'll host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.