Raiders teammate defends Vontaze Burfict after latest head shot
Vontaze Burfict is said to be facing a lengthy suspension after he was ejected from Sunday’s game for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle, and at least one of his Oakland Raiders teammates believe the punishment that has been reported would be far too harsh.
Burfict could be suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports. Shortly after Mortensen shared that information, Raiders linebacker Tahir Whitehead took to Twitter and said it would be “straight bulls—” if the NFL comes down that hard on Burfict.
“This is straight bulls—. No way that hit calls for that,” Whitehead wrote. “This s— is getting out of hand.”
The hit itself may not call for a season-long suspension, but Burfict is a repeat offender. He has already been suspended for four games on two separate occasions for unnecessary roughness penalties, so his latest suspension will almost certainly be longer than that. There are 12 games remaining in the season and the NFL knows Burfict will appeal any ban, which is why they may choose to suspend him for the rest of the year.
Burfict appeared to launch himself at Doyle when the tight end was already on the ground, and the hit was the type we have seen from him numerous times in the past. You could understand Whitehead being upset if it was any other player, but Burfict is easily one of the dirtiest players in NFL history. It’s hard to defend him anymore.
