This isn't what anyone involved with the Cincinnati Bengals wanted to hear.
According to a recent report from the Cincinnati Enquirer, Bengals rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton has been accused of assault by a 19-year old woman who he was dating. No charges against Burton have been filed at this time.
Jermaine Burton accused of assault, no charges filed
The incident reportedly took place prior to Cincinnati's Week 18 matchup with the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Burton didn't travel with the team to Pittsburgh, and at the time it was not known why. Now, it seems his off-field issues were the determining factor.
The Enquirer reached out to the Bengals, and the organization shared the following message regarding the situation: "We are aware of information related to Jermaine Burton. We will continue to evaluate as we gather additional details and will have no further comment at this time."
The details from the situation are pretty disturbing. We're not going to share them here, but you can find the original report here.
Unfortunately, off-field issues have been a recurring theme for Burton, dating back to his days in college, and they have followed him to the NFL. Burton was benched by the Bengals earlier this season for their Week 9 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders after missing the walkthrough. Afterwards, veteran cornerback Mike Hilton called Burton out for immaturity.
"When you get to this point in your career you gotta grow up,' Hilton said. "You're a grown man. Nobody is going to baby you anymore. We know how talented he is and how much he can help, but he has to grow up and just mature and realize he's gotta put the team over himself."
Clearly, Burton still has some maturing to do off of the field. On the field, his rookie campaign was a major disappointment for the Bengals as he caught just four total passes for 107 yards and zero touchdowns.