Linebacker Vontaze Burfict is working this offseason to accommodate his style of play to the NFL’s guidelines after serving a 12-game suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit, his agent revealed to NFL Network.
“Vontaze has spent the entire offseason studying and learning the proper code of conduct for participation in the NFL. He has watched the tape, talked with coaches and NFL experts, doing everything he can to conform his passionate play to the rules of the NFL. This is a serious issue not only for Vontaze but all players, and he is serious about doing things the right way and being a leader in playing football the right way,” agent Peter Schaffer told NFL Network.
Schaffer said his customer has been working out at Arizona State, his place of graduation.
Burfict, 29, is set to be an unhindered free specialist one month from now.
Burfict, who played for the Raiders last season, was suspended for a Week 4 hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle. He was catapulted from that game for the hit.
The NFL referred to his rehashed infringement of pointless harshness rules in giving out the longest suspension ever for an on-field incident.
While with the Cincinnati Bengals, Burfict was repeatedly suspended by the NFL for terrible hits and violating its policy on performance-enhancers. He was fined routinely for hits that went too far, most eminently the one to Antonio Brown’s head that propelled the Steelers to energize for an 18-16 season finisher win in the 2015 season. That prompted a three-game suspension to begin the 2016 season. He additionally had a five-game suspension decreased to three games for a preseason hit in 2017. He was likewise fined $112,000 in the 2018 season for hits on Brown and James Conner in a game against Pittsburgh.
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