One of The NFL's Most Notorious Players Has Officially Been Cut
The Cincinnati Bengals released oft-suspended linebacker Vontaze Burfict on Monday.
Burfict’s career was marked more by his behavior than his tackling skills.
In his seven years with the Bengals, he was suspended by the NFL to start each of the past three seasons, mostly for egregious hits that violated the league’s player safety rules.
His most notable performance might have been when Burfict and Adam “Pacman” Jones got 15-yard penalties in the 2015 playoffs that set up a Steelers field goal with 14 seconds left for an 18-16 win.
While that may have been the most infamous incident of his career, Burfict has had plenty of run-ins with the Steelers.
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was fined $112,000 for multiple plays that constituted unnecessary roughness in Cincinnati’s Week 6 game against Pittsburgh, including the plays involving the Steelers’ Antonio Brown (11:19 in 3rd quarter) and James Conner (5:17 in 3rd quarter).
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 20, 2018
Burfict, whose play style could generously be described as “reckless,” has also hurt himself with his volatile hitting.
Notably, Burfict seemingly concussed himself in 2018 with his trademark recklessness.
ESPN’s Bengals reporter Katherin Terrell noted that it was hardly Burfict’s first concussion.
Those are only the seven we know about as well. I always wonder how many players have concussions that don’t end up in protocol. https://t.co/m4YrCMfM0G
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) December 27, 2018
At least one of the 7, I believe, occurred when he and his teammate collided. Having never had one myself, I can’t imagine what it feels like. But his first one this year took a few weeks to get over, and he immediately got another one. It’s very concerning at this point.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) December 27, 2018
Undrafted out of Arizona State, Burfict played in 75 games with 73 starts.
He made 684 tackles, had 8½ sacks, five interceptions, 33 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
He made the 2013 Pro Bowl.
“As we continue to build our roster for the 2019 season, we felt it best to give both the team and Vontaze a fresh start,” new Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “Vontaze has been a good player here — the team appreciates that, and I know a lot of fans appreciate that — but our focus is on the future.”
Burfict’s days with the Bengals had seemed numbered for a while, as his out-of-control nature began to manifest against his own team.
Vontaze Burfict now moved away from acting dirty to other players to acting dirty to his own team’s staffpic.twitter.com/J2oUqZZEjo
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 23, 2018
Given his injury history and behavorial issues, it’ll be fascinating to see if anyone signs the 28-year-old Burfict.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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