CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton on Tuesday somewhat addressed the issues that led to him being inactive for last Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, and veteran wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase opened up about his own problems as a rookie, but how quickly he fixed them and why he didn’t talk to Burton about them last weekend.

Burton was leaning toward getting significant playing time against Las Vegas, but after Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said late last week that Burton wasn’t minding his business, the rookie was placed on the inactive list for the game.

In a brief exchange with reporters on Tuesday, Burton admitted he let himself and his teammates down, but then responded to questions with the same answer.

“Yeah, sure,” Burton said.

The following exchange then took place:

Q: What have you said to your teammates and what have teammates said to you?

Burton: “It just has to get better.”

Q: What happened on Saturday?

Burton: “It just has to get better.”

Q: Do you think you can overcome this without it happening again?

Burton: “It just has to get better.”

Q: Where is your mindset?

Burton: “It just has to get better.”

Chase said he committed a similar transgression as a rookie when he was late to a meeting, ironically the week the Bengals played in Baltimore on October 24, 2021, and despite having an outstanding game (eight receptions for 201 yards and a touchdown). He also knew that he couldn’t make any more mistakes.

“I missed a whole meeting, got in at like 10 a.m. and then attended that game in Baltimore (in 2021), so that was the last time I was late,” Chase said. “That was the best game I had all season and I was late so they said it was cool, but I know for a fact it wasn’t cool so I won’t be late again. I mean, it’s just like that.” My first year, I have to know what time it is when I get up, and that’s how it was for me. I wasn’t used to getting up early and knowing the scheduled times, but I mean, now you just have to know your schedule. I won’t speak for him, but you know it’s going to happen.

Unfortunately for Burton, it doesn’t seem like he’s learned as he’s found it difficult to get on the field this season despite showing off his playing ability along the way.

Chase said he talked to Burton about his problems but was done with it.

“I’ve spoken to Jermaine before, not about the (current) situation, but at the end of the day you’ll learn from the situations,” Chase said. “I had to do the same thing. You simply learn from the situation until you understand what is at stake and realize the consequences that arise from it. Then you’ll understand and your head will spin.”

“He is a grown man. I had a conversation with him. He knows what’s right and what’s wrong, so I’m not going to tell you all the time. I don’t expect Tee (Higgins) to do that to me. So, like I said, you live and learn from the experience and hopefully it doesn’t happen again and he’ll move on.”

Chase said he didn’t feel the need to apologize to the team after his delay, and he didn’t expect Burton to do so either.

“I don’t know if we expect that from him, you know, that’s ultimately up to him,” Chase said. “My game excused me. I wouldn’t go in front of the whole team and I apologize. As far as I’m concerned, I wouldn’t do that. I mean, I screwed up. It’s not a problem that I go in front of the team to apologize. This is it.” that I fix a problem myself.