Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Vontaze Burfict (55) reacts during the game against the Cleveland Browns at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati won 41-20. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Cincinnati Bengals second-year outside linebacker Vontaze Burfict has been a revelation this season, and he has done an amazing job as a playmaking linebacker on a very good Bengals defense. But Burfict might not play in this week’s game against the San Diego Chargers, as he suffered an ankle injury during practice today and is thus questionable to play.
The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Joe Reedy reports that Burfict sprained his ankle, and his status for Sunday’s game is a total toss-up at this point. He’s one of the toughest players in the league, but he’ll likely come down to a game-time decision that could go either way. The Bengals can certainly survive without Burfict this week, even if the Chargers are a solid team due to Philip Rivers’s MVP-like play this season. Rey Maualuga is finally back in the fold following the bye week after dealing with a multi-week injury, and the Bengals have plenty of depth at linebacker. Maualuga’s injury allowed Vincent Rey to start and shine, as he showed that he is a legitimate started in this league with incredible playmaking ability.
Losing Burfict in the playoffs would be a big blow, but missing the Arizona State product for one game isn’t much of a loss due to the Bengals excellent depth at the linebacker position. Burfict has been one of the best defensive players this season with a whopping 118 tackles and seven interceptions, and he’s a guy who can dominate on any given day. He’s turned into a true star in this league, and hopefully he is good-to-go beyond this week. It would be great if he could play on Sunday against the Chargers, but Burfict’s health beyond this week is clearly the more important thing for the Bengals big-picture-wise.