The Bills offer troubled receiver Jermaine Burton a new beginning. Can he overcome past controversies and reignite his NFL career at rookie minicamp?
The Buffalo Bills are giving Jermain Burton another shot, inviting the troubled young wide receiver to their rookie minicamp.
First reported by Jordan Schultz, this is Burton's first attempt to get back into the NFL since being released by the Cincinnati Bengals last season.
The Bengals drafted Burton in the 3rd round of the 2024 NFL Draft, hoping he can be a third option behind Ja'marr Chase and Tee Higgins. But that isn't what ended up happening. In his nearly two seasons with the Bengals, Burton had just four catches for 107 yards to go with 378 return yards. But he's mostly remembered for what happened off the field.
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Burton was a healthy scratch as a rookie due to missing a walk-through the day before Cincinnati's game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Later in the year, he was reportedly involved in a domestic violence incident where he allegedly choked and hit his ex-girlfriend. No charges were filed in that case.
The problems didn't go away in year two, either. He was late to practices, leading to him being scratched for most of the 2025 season. Then, just before the Bengals faced the Bills last December, Burton had another incident with the team. That led to him being officially suspended for "noninjury reasons", causing him to lose out on a game check. One day later, the team outright released Burton.
After being let go, the 24-year-old Burton went unclaimed on waivers and wasn't signed by any NFL team as a free agent.
Now, with options limited, the Bills are giving the former Alabama standout one more chance to try and find his way back into the league. Whether a showing at rookie minicamp leads to a contract offer or not remains to be seen, but Burton is likely on his last chance to be an NFL receiver.
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