Photo of NFL rookie at casino goes viral after he was convicted of ‘missing a team review’

A photo showing Cincinnati Bengals star Jermaine Burton at a local casino has gone viral after the rookie receiver was a healthy scratch Sunday amid reports he missed the team’s final walkthrough a day earlier.

There isn’t much context to the photo, which shows Burton playing a slot machine at the city’s Hard Rock Casino. Neither a spokeswoman for the Bengals nor Burton’s agent immediately responded to DailyMail.com’s inquiry about when the photo was taken.

Obviously, it would reflect poorly on Burton if it was revealed that the photo was taken in the early hours of Saturday morning, when the team was scheduled for its final walkthrough before beating the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

Burton was counted on heavily last week because of star receiver Tee Higgins’ lingering quad injury.

Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s win, Taylor didn’t reveal too much other than to say the benching was a ‘necessary step’.

A photo showing Cincinnati Bengals star Jermaine Burton at a local casino has gone viral after the rookie receiver was a healthy scratch Sunday

Burton was scratched on Sunday after reportedly missing Saturday’s final walkthrough

“We’ve just got to handle our business the right way, and so I can sit here and say it was a tough decision to make him inactive, but it was absolutely the right decision with all the information we had,” Taylor said after the Bengals. ‘ 41-24 win.

‘He’s a guy who I think will have a really good career here and we’ll support him. And he wants to help us win and do things the right way.’

Burton attended Sunday’s game where he was seen wearing pajama bottoms. He also appeared to have a tense exchange with quarterback Joe Burrow, who was visibly irritated during and after the Bengals improved to 4-5 on the season.

“Get your damn bodies right, get your minds right,” Burrow shouted to teammates in the locker room, referring to Thursday’s game with rival Baltimore. ‘It’s a big one on Thursday.’

Taylor said Burton is expected to practice this week and play Thursday night in Baltimore.

There had been rumors of character concerns about Burton when he entered the NFL.

Burton was tapped Sunday to help carry the load without injured Tee Higgins

During his time at Alabama, Burton was accused of punching a female fan after the Crimson Tide fell to the Tennessee Volunteers. Then-Alabama coach Nick Saban told reports that Burton’s biggest issue was ’emotional maturity.’

Burrow had been largely complimented by Burton despite his problems.

“I think Jermaine is going to be a great player, he just needs to do the little things right,” Burrow said.

Burton began his college career at Georgia before transferring to Alabama, where he won a national title in 2021.

The Bengals drafted him in the third round of last April’s NFL Draft. He has just two catches over seven NFL games, though both were good for more than 40 yards.