Zac Taylor: Jermaine Burton's done "a good job" this offseason

Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton’s rookie season was a bust, but the team is hopeful that Year Two can be better.

Burton was a third-round pick, but only caught four passes during a year that saw him get benched multiple times due to coaching decisions. One of those benchings came in Week 18 when he did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh in the wake of an assault accusation.

Director of player personnel Duke Tobin was blunt in January when he said Burton has done nothing to deserve a spot on the roster, but head coach Zac Taylor gave a more positive review of Burton’s offseason when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday.

“All he can handle is the present at this point,” Taylor said, via Paul Dehner of TheAthletic.com. “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.”

Burton has not left himself much margin for error, but continuing to stay in Taylor’s good graces will be a good way to boost his chances of making a contribution to the team in 2025.