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Why Bengals Zac Taylor made Jermaine Burton inactive against Raiders

Posted on by Kennedy
Why Bengals Zac Taylor made Jermaine Burton inactive against Raiders

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor made a shocking decision Sunday morning when he gave rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton a healthy scratch for the Week 9 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

After the 41-24 win over Las Vegas, Taylor spoke about the decision to inactive Burton after making him a central part of the Bengals' game plan.

“At the end of the week we just had to get all of our business done right,” Taylor said. “I can sit here and say it was a difficult decision to make him inactive, but based on all the information we have, it was absolutely the right decision.”

Jermaine Burton among the inactive Bengals against Raiders

Taylor wouldn't publicly go into the specifics of what Burton did or didn't do, but it's clear he's locked in with the organization needing to be inactivated ahead of a must-win game.

The Burton situation is a big topic of conversation because there were red flags attached to his name when the Bengals decided to use a third-round pick on the rookie wideout in this year's draft.

Jermaine Burton is concerned about Alabama's NFL draft prospects

Burton's character issues stem from his hitting a female fan on the field after Alabama lost to the University of Tennessee. Former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban called “emotional maturity” Burton’s biggest problem to overcome in the NFL.

Based on Joe Burrow's repeated responses about him since the team selected him, maturity and reliability appear to be the issues with Burton. When asked what he thought of the situation with Burton, Burrow initially praised him but reiterated that Burton needed to be more focused.

Jermaine Burton on offense for the Bengals

“I think Jermaine will be a great player, he just needs to do the little things right,” Burrow said.

Not only did Burton fail his teammates in being a healthy body capable of helping the Bengals win, but he also missed a golden opportunity to carve out a role for himself in Cincinnati's offense. Wide receiver Tee Higgins has missed the last two games with a quadriceps injury and the Bengals were hoping to rely on Burton in the passing game.

Taylor says the Bengals aren't giving up on Burton, but it looks like he still has a long way to go to regain the trust of his teammates and coaches. Until he succeeds, questions will continue to concern him.

This is the second time in nine games that Burton has been inactive in his first season in the NFL.

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