Teams like Southern California, Colorado, Arizona State were among the teams interested. [74] Upon joining the active roster, Burfict was named the starting weakside linebacker, opposite strongside linebacker A. J. Hawk. 6 in total defense but allowed 2.4 more yards per play when Burfict was off the field. [79] Burfict served his three-game suspension (Weeks 1–3) to begin the 2016 NFL season. Despite seeing all of the red flags, the Bengals signed him as an undrafted free agent in the aftermath. and he showed me the clip of it. But then everything changed. Vontaze Burfict’s history of not caring about the well-being of others started long before he ever reached the NFL. Finally, the one that got away: the Wild Card playoff game at home versus the Steelers. Burfict participated in the US Army All-American Bowland was the third-leading tackler for the West team. “There were more practice fights in Vontaze’s years than I’ve seen in (current coach) Todd Graham’s entire four years at ASU,” Chris Karpman of Sun Devil Source told the Press Enterprise in January. Burfict entered the 2012 NFL Draft after his junior season, finishing his collegiate career with 22 personal fouls in 37 games with the Sun Devils. In Burfict’s freshman year, he showed why he was a top-five player in the nation out of high school. Former Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict entered his junior season as an All-American and likely top-10 pick in the 2012 NFL draft. Burfict was reinstated in the 2020 offseason and will be eligible to sign with a team during free agency. On January 26, 2015, it was confirmed that Burfict had undergone microfracture surgery after issues in his knee that was surgically repaired the previous October continued to persist. He walked off the field holding up the money sign a la Johnny Manziel. The terms of their relationship were not friendly in the beginning. He was subsequently signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2012,[7] where he played for seven seasons. Naturally, the two would play against each other on the football field in high school. That event drove Vontaze to better himself on the field instead of figuring out a way to retaliate. The hit on Roethlisberger drew the most attention as it appeared the linebacker made an effort to dive at the quarterback’s knees, although Burfict said he was pushed. Burfict quickly developed a reputation for being a destroyer of worlds at ASU. Speaking more about Burfict’s on-field shortcomings, the widespread thought leading up to the 2012 NFL draft was that he failed to show discipline on the field. Burfict’s bad blood with the Steelers really boiled over in a Week 8 game between two teams jockeying for a playoff position. By midseason, he was already told to rein it in after drawing three personal fouls in an October game against Washington. Vontaze Burfict was ejected via replay for lowering the helmet to initiate contact pic.twitter.com/Tp3sukvneh. A high school rival of Burfict’s, Barkley had been saying things leading up to that game, and the Sun Devils linebacker wanted the QB to know he was ready. But it could have been foreseen by some considering the difficult life Burfict had prior to being recruited by Arizona State, as Sports Illustrated reported in the lead up of the 2012 draft. The play did not draw a flag, but it was still one of the three plays that resulted in a huge fine for Burfict. [111] Miller was eligible for the 2010 NFL Draft, but he went undrafted. Burfict started to take that mean streak to an entirely new level and was seen as nothing more than a dirty player on the field. There’s nothing new about Burfict’s play; it earned him a reputation all the way back in high school. At just 23 years old, Burfict’s future is unlimited. Take a look at the other times he's been forced out of games during his NFL career. Head coach Marvin Lewis stated he would take over duties as defensive coordinator for the remainder of the season. Vontaze finished high school leading an undefeated Huskies team ... Coach Erickson then told him that he wanted him to finish the plays and go back to playing football." Butts, The banned javelin technique which endangered spectators and shattered records, Here’s an easy way to make the the sport of SPEAR THROWING even more dangerous. Upon his return, head coach Marvin Lewis named Burfict the starting weakside linebacker. Burfict earned another $21,000 fine about a month later when he speared New York Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill with his helmet. As if it were scripted, Vontaze Burfict reverted back in a game against the Steelers. [69] Burfict was limited to five games and five starts in 2014 and recorded 29 combined tackles (15 solo) and two pass deflections.[51]. [82] In Week 15, Burfict recorded nine combined tackles and broke up a pass before exiting in the second quarter of the Bengals’ 24–20 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a concussion. That’s what our focus is supposed to be on when evaluating a NFL draft prospect, but it’s also important to take a note where said prospect came from, his childhood and so on. [65] On October 15, 2014, the NFL fined Burfict $25,000 for the ankle twisting incidents involving Greg Olsen and Cam Newton, but chose not to suspend him. Burfict then had two pro day workouts, where he was able to run a 4.8 40-yard dash, and began improving his stock. Burfict earned fines for three separate plays — two unnecessary roughness penalties and a hit low on Roethlisberger — totaling $69,454. Cameras never showed what the interaction was that got him tossed, but it came after a questionable late hit call that frustrated the linebacker. [90][91][92] On December 4, 2017, Burfict made six combined tackles during the Bengals’ 23–20 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13 before being carted off the field during the fourth quarter. He is capable of being the physical inside presence for an NFL defense, but not many coaches are going to have the patience to deal with personal foul penalties like the coaches did at ASU where, frankly, Burflict was the only option inside. His most recent infraction got him ejected from a Week 4 game against the Colts and cost him the rest of the 2019 season. Let’s look back at the career of Vontaze Burfict from high school until now. . This one event spelled doom for the Bengals for the next seven years. No other player is in jeopardy of serious ramifications for a single personal foul, but Burfict has reached that point. While many see this moment as typical Burfict antics, Burfict actually has framed this photo in his house. Vontaze Burfict Has No Place In The NFL High School And Arizona State. Bleacher Report’s Paul Peszko wrote this about the following game: “Matt Barkley may have won the war of words in the media, but Vontaze Burfict won the battle on the field.”. [110][111] Like Burfict, Miller was a football player at Corona Centennial High School, and later played college football at UTEP and Akron. On Monday, the NFL announced that Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict would be suspended for the rest of the 2019 season following his illegal hit on Colts tight end Jack Doyle in Oakland's 31-24 win. The second stop was an impressive dive over the line of scrimmage on fourth down that came right after Burfict shoved the ref and almost gave up a free first down: Burfict finished the year with Pac-10 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors, but he quickly developed a reputation for personal fouls. When AJ McCarron became a free agent, the Bengals brought in journeyman Matt Barkley to back up Andy Dalton. Burfict decided to forgo his senior year at Arizona State to pursue a career in the NFL.[33]. Burfict remained in the league's concussion protocol and was inactive for the last two games (Weeks 16–17) of the regular season. The news of the fight in the locker room in the off-season came out, when it was swept under the rug back in the off-season. In March 2019, after unsuccessful attempts to trade Burfict, the Bengals released the linebacker. He began getting compared to guys like Ray Lewis (his favorite player) at an early age. Burfict attended Centennial High School in Corona, California, where he was part of an undefeated Huskies team that won a CIF title, a state championship with the help of quarterback Taylor Martinez, and was ranked second in the nation by USA Today in 2008. The first penalty was a late hit on DeMarco Murray, and the other was unsportsmanlike conduct for bumping into an official. 2018 was the beginning of the end of an era in Cincinnati. With senior cornerback Omar Bolden lost for the season to a knee injury, Burfict was expected to take over as the leader of the Sun Devils defense in 2011,[31][32] but eventually had a rather inconsistent junior season. Today, we’ll give you some background story on Burfict and an exclusive Q&A will follow on Tuesday. She gave birth to Vontaze Jr., a chunky baby who changed the way she saw the world. Far be it for any of us to have some sort of grasp on exactly what it must have been like for Burfict growing up in that situation. He earned a $20 million extension in 2014, but Burfict reverted to his former self, racking up personal fouls and fines that have since come to define his play, despite the fact that he’s one of the NFL’s better linebackers. Bernard was just returning from ACL surgery, so he did not take kindly to the hit. Burfict made his debut with the Raiders in week 1 against the Denver Broncos. On April 29, 2012, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Burfict to a three-year, $1.44 million contract that featured a signing bonus of $1,000. Once considered a top-10 pick, the former All-American found himself taking calls from several NFL teams as an undrafted free agent.