PITTSBURGH — Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh and will miss Saturday’s key contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers .
According to the team, Burton was left back in Cincinnati because of a coach’s decision. The rookie had been the team’s primary kick returner over the last seven games.
It’s the latest misstep for the team’s third-round pick out of Alabama. Earlier this year, Burton was a healthy scratch for a Week 9 win against the Las Vegas Raiders . With starting wide receiver Tee Higgins out for that contest, Burton was expected to have a significant role in the gameplan.
However, multiple sources told ESPN that Burton did not play after he missed a walkthrough the day before the game. After that game, Taylor explained the rationale for the decision.
“As the week unfolded, there was a lot of positive things people were saying about him,” Taylor said on Nov. 3. “It was all true. And then late in the week … we’ve just got to handle business the right way. And so, I can sit here and say it was a difficult decision to make him inactive, but it was absolutely the right decision with all the information we had.”