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

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

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

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

Speaking to reporters after Sunday’s win, Taylor didn’t reveal much other than that the benching was a “necessary step.”

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

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

“We just have 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 victory.

“He’s a guy who, I think, will have 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.”

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 body right, get your mind right,” Burrow yelled at 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 were rumors of character issues about Burton when he went to the NFL.

Burton was called upon Sunday to help carry the load without the 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 said Burton’s biggest problem was “emotional maturity.”

Burrow had been largely complimentary of 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 started 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 in seven NFL games, although both were good for more than 40 yards.