Cincinnati Bengals suspend WR Jermaine Burton for Sunday's game vs. Buffalo Bills

The Cincinnati Bengals suspended WR Jermaine Burton ahead of today’s game against the Buffalo Bills, per Tom Pelissero. NFL Network reported the game check figures in addition to the news, but no reason for the suspension was given Sunday morning.

The Bengals have suspended WR Jermaine Burton for today’s game at Buffalo, the team announced. Burton will be listed as inactive for the game,” Pelissero wrote on Twitter. “Jermaine Burton’s suspension will cost him a game check worth $59,320.88.”

Burton was a third round pick (No. 80 overall) by the Bengals in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Alabama. He played for the Crimson Tide for two seasons after his first two were spent with the Georgia Bulldogs, where he won a national title in 2021.

Burton has not played a game yet this season. He appeared in 14 games as a rookie, reeling in four catches for 107 yards.

While in college, Burton total 132 catches for 2,376 yards, 23 touchdowns and 18 yards per catch. He had a career high 40 catches in 2022 for Alabama and a career high in receiving yards (798) in 2023.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Burton was a four-star recruit out of Calabasas (Calif.) High, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 9 overall prospect in the state, the No. 14 wide receiver in the class and the No. 75 overall prospect in the class.

Burton has been subject to controversy before, having allegedly struck a Tennessee fan on the field during a field storming as Alabama lost to the Vols in 2022. He was also accused of allegedly assaulting his girlfriend earlier this year.

According to the Enquirer, police reports show Burton and the woman “dated on and off” after first meeting in September. The two were allegedly arguing prior to the Dec. 30, 2024 incident following a night out.

The Enquirer revealed records show the woman told the 911 dispatcher that Burton “met her at her apartment, chased her inside, damaged her phone and assaulted her, including choking her.” The woman, who is 19 and was heard sobbing heavily on the 911 call, also claimed Burton “held a knife to his neck and threatened to kill himself.”

“Jermaine Burton on the Bengals just broke into my house,” the woman said on the 911 call. “He broke my phone. … He’s been like pretty abusive. He does a lot of things that I don’t tolerate.”

She then claimed Burton had been “screaming at me” during their night out, and they parted ways, only for Burton to be at her apartment when she arrived later that night.

“He wouldn’t let me go inside. And he choked me (unintelligible) in the hallway,” she said, according to the Enquirer. “He blocked the door so I couldn’t go inside, and when I did go inside, he chased me upstairs. He broke into my house. He broke my phone. This is the second time he’s broken my phone in the past month.

“He broke my phone. He hit me and he left.”

When Cincinnati police arrived at the woman’s apartment the next morning, Burton was already gone. The police report indicated the woman had suffered minor injuries but did not need medical attention. It also showed the woman initially planned to press charges against Burton, but then changed her mind.

Alex Byington contributed to this report