Cincinnati Bengals Insider Says Rookie WR Is Not Ready for Big Role, Reveals New WR3

The Cincinnati Bengals are finished with their preseason as they set their sites on opening day, now less than two weeks away.

As the offseason program and training camp has rolled along, the big picture in what is a very deep receiving room has started to become a bit more clear than it was at the start of the offseason. Someone who both the team and fans were very excited about is r ookie third-round selection Jermaine Burton , excitement that has only grown through strong preseason performances.

Despite the fact that Burton has put up numbers in the preseason, it doesn't look like he is going to be sliding into the WR3 spot in the slot between Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, at least not right away. By the sounds of it, second-year wideout who was taken in the sixth round of the 2023 draft, Andrei Iosivas, is going to get the nod at the start of the season. Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic detailed what is going on behind the scenes in the receiver room in his latest article .

"Iosivas will soak up the majority of snaps alongside Chase and Higgins in 11 personnel," Dehner Jr. wrote . "As for Burton, don’t expect him to contribute anytime soon. They have tried him out at returner to see whether he can carve out a role there but gave way to Jones on Thursday. There’s just not enough trust in Burton right now to put him on the field with Burrow. He needs more time to build that in the coming months."

While Bengals fans want to see Burton as soon as possible, it sounds like the young rookie still has more work to do in order to get on the field.