The Cincinnati Bengals’ injury report lists wide receiver Jermaine Burton as “out” for Saturday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The reason is listed as “non-injury related – other.”
The NFL team announced the third-round rookie from Alabama would not travel with the team on Friday because of a “coach’s decision.”
Then came news that Burton was being evicted from his apartment.
According to records from the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, Radius Acquisition LLC filed an eviction case against “Jermaine Burton and all occupants” of his apartment on Dec. 23, and it seeks $2,506.33 from the wide receiver.
Burton has a court date of Jan. 24 to address the eviction.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported the company had given Burton a three-day notice to vacate the apartment on Dec. 17, and he had not complied. The Enquirer also reported Radius was seeking “$10,000 to compensate plaintiff for injury to the premises above and beyond ordinary wear and tear.”
Burton has a Jan. 24 court date to address the eviction.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor has made the decision to sit Burton previously this season. With Tee Higgins injured for Cincinnati’s Nov. 3 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Burton was scheduled for a jump in playing time, but he ended up as a game-day inactive.
“Late in the week, we just got to handle all of our business the right way,” Taylor said after the game. “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 of the information we had. He’s a guy who’s going to have, I think, a really good career here, and we’re going to support him. And he wants to help us win and do things the right way. Today was just a necessary step we had to make.”
Burton has four receptions for 107 yards and has averaged 29.1 yards on 13 kickoff returns in 14 games. He has been on the field for 131 offensive snaps and 37 special-teams plays.
The Bengals and Steelers play at 7 p.m. CST Saturday at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. ABC and ESPN will televise the game.
