Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton does not understand why Al Michaels attacked his character during the team’s NFL preseason finale last week. The 23-year-old rookie vehemently denies an unsubstantiated rumor that he sleeps through team meetings.
There is no basis for the legendary broadcaster’s claims.
Burton, a third-round draft pick out of Alabama and Georgia, finished eight receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns during his first few games as a professional and looked great. However, he played most of the preseason with end-of-depth-chart players on offense and on special teams as a kick returner.
Why?
Michaels implied on NBC’s Thursday Night Football broadcast that Burton can’t keep his eyes open during team meetings. His accusation came without any legitimate backing.
Is Bengals rookie receiver Jermaine Burton sleeping in meetings?
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) August 23, 2024
Here’s the exchange between Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit⬇️ pic.twitter.com/dBlEsEV4sI
Not only did Michaels fail provide any additional details about what may or may not be happening with the Bengals pass-catcher, he never mentioned it again. It was a cryptic, throwaway comment that painted an ugly image of a player with some prior character concerns after an on-field incident in 2022.
Perhaps the comments were literal. Perhaps they were figurative.
Either way, Burton made a telling admission on the ‘Bengals Booth Podcast’ with Dan Hoard after the final game of the preseason. Something is obviously holding him back from reps with the first-team offense.
I could’ve been better in how I’ve been handling my business in my preseason. I could lock in more on my details and the things that I did wrong, but it’s all about how you handle it. It’s all about what it means to you and I feel like I need to do a better job of showing how much this means to me.
— Jermaine Burton
With that being said, Burton does not appreciate Michaels’ slander. He spoke with Elise Jesse of All Bengals about what the legendary broadcaster implied and vehemently denied such behavior.
I don’t even know. I don’t know where that came from. I was confused myself.
— Jermaine Burton
Burton himself was not even aware of the comment until his mom let him know. It is so far from the truth that he is not going to give it the time of day.
I don’t even care about it because I don’t even know what he’s talking about.
— Jermaine Burton
Cincinnati gets the regular season underway on Sunday, Sept. 8 against New England. Jermaine Burton had a dominant preseason against fourth-stringers but will that earn him a spot in the lineup?!