Cincinnati Bengals: Effects of the Vontaze Burfict suspension

Vontaze Burfict is yet again facing a multi-game suspension. A look at what it means for him and his team going forward.

The Cincinnati Bengals have lived through numerous problems with their players in the days of Marvin Lewis. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict isn’t the first nor the last, but he is likely the most talented — and most polarizing — for the franchise in that time.

Unfortunately, all that talent is proving to be less and less worth the trouble that comes with the player. I’ve talked about the issues with Burfict plenty before, but it bears repeating.

Between fines and suspensions, he had already lost over $2 million in his career for the laundry list of issues that follows:

$21,000 fine for spearing Jets’ Stephen Hill in 2013
$25,000 fine for twisting the ankles of Panthers’ Cam Newton and Greg Olsen in 2014
$69,454 combined fines for multiple unsportsmanlike conduct plays against the Steelers in 2015
Three-game suspension ($502,941 forfeited) for defenseless receiver hit on Steelers’ Antonio Brown in 2015 playoffs
$75,000 fine for stepping on Patriots’ LeGarrette Blount in 2016
$12,154 fine for flipping the bird at Bills fans in 2016
Three-game suspension ($1,400,469 forfeited) for defenseless receiver hit on Chiefs’ Anthony Sherman in 2017 preseason
$12,154 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct against Steelers in 2017

That is an abysmal list, and it shows a player who has not — and probably can not — leave those issues in his past. But his suspension for the start of the 2018 season brings in an entirely different dimension of problems to the forefront to worry about.

More from NFL Spin Zone

Prior to this suspension, every one of these fines and suspensions were tied directly to things Burfict did on the field. Too many dirty plays deservedly gave him that “dirty player” label, and it in turn made him more of a target for severe punishment. This is why there was good reason for skepticism against the idea of granting him an extension last offseason, and even more so once he was given one that will count at least $8.6 million against the cap in each of the next three seasons.

Now, not only is this part of the package that comes with Burfict, but he brings off-field problems to the table as well. Look again at that list of transgressions; among them, you won’t find a single one which came from something away from the field. But this offseason, he’s been given a four-game suspension for PEDs. So, a player who already has a target on his back for his play on the field has plastered himself with another.

Burfict was never a player we could call mature in his decision-making, but this is yet another strike against someone who cannot really afford any more of them. When he is playing, he can be a great contributor; at his best, he’s the sort of dynamic playmaker who can change a defense on his own.

The negatives which are inherent to who he is as a player continue to make him less able to actually be available though, and now he has to not only be a concern for himself and his team on the field but away from it as well.

At some point, even the notoriously lenient Bengals will decide to move on from him. That could technically come as soon as this offseason: the dead cap hit for cutting Burfict this year would be under $3 million. Cincinnati probably won’t go that route yet (especially after paying him a $2 million roster bonus at the end of March), but now would at least be a good time to start forming plans in that direction.

Next: Grading each 2017 first-round pick after rookie year

With four picks in the top 100 in the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft, they should have plenty of players they look into. Even if they don’t replace Burfict outright, they can be options for the inevitable games Burfict will miss (either from this suspension, or the ones which are sure to come in the future).

There is only one thing that is for sure: Burfict’s time as a reliable part of Cincinnati’s plans should be over.

Home/Cincinnati Bengals