After a high hit that added to what was an already controversial end to the Wild Card game in Cincinnati on Saturday, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict has been suspended for the first three games of the 2016 season. The league explained it as "repeated violations of player-safety rules."
This reaction comes from the high hit to Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver Antonio Brown in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss at home. It is reportedly "not looking good" for Brown to play in the Divisional Round at Denver. He is under the league's concussion protocol.
Burfict will appeal the three-game ban despite the league explaining that his hit "placed his opponent at unnecessary risk of injury and should have been avoided." If he loses the appeal, it will cost Burfict $502,941 in 2016, putting his total at $647,395 of money forfeited since receiving a four-year, $20 million extension before the 2014 season.
Burfict was not present for interviews when the team returned to clean out their lockers on Monday. Head coach Marvin Lewis claimed that he did not think his player went over the edge at any point this season. He did acknowledge that Burfict has received a bad reputation for his style of play.
He was heavily fined for a brawl on December 13th with the same Steelers team, and played a role in a pregame scuffle that same day. He was also fined $50,000 for unnecessarily making contact with an opponent who was out of play in the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
The defender's "style of play", which many would define as dirty, has costed him plenty of money and playing time, and it is expected to do just that again to kick off the 2016 campaign.
This reaction comes from the high hit to Pittsburgh Steelers' wide receiver Antonio Brown in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss at home. It is reportedly "not looking good" for Brown to play in the Divisional Round at Denver. He is under the league's concussion protocol.
Burfict will appeal the three-game ban despite the league explaining that his hit "placed his opponent at unnecessary risk of injury and should have been avoided." If he loses the appeal, it will cost Burfict $502,941 in 2016, putting his total at $647,395 of money forfeited since receiving a four-year, $20 million extension before the 2014 season.
Burfict was not present for interviews when the team returned to clean out their lockers on Monday. Head coach Marvin Lewis claimed that he did not think his player went over the edge at any point this season. He did acknowledge that Burfict has received a bad reputation for his style of play.
He was heavily fined for a brawl on December 13th with the same Steelers team, and played a role in a pregame scuffle that same day. He was also fined $50,000 for unnecessarily making contact with an opponent who was out of play in the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
The defender's "style of play", which many would define as dirty, has costed him plenty of money and playing time, and it is expected to do just that again to kick off the 2016 campaign.
