Vontaze Burfict Suspension Upheld by NFL

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict is suspended for the start of the regular NFL season… again. For the third season in a row, Burfict will be absent after losing his appeal against a four-game suspension.

Vontaze Burfict was initially suspended without pay in March for violating NFL rules on performance-enhancing substances.

He will now lose $11.3m of his guaranteed $33m three-year contract with the Bengals because of the suspension.

Burfict missed the start of the 2016 season for multiple violations of the NFL’s player safety rules. They included a hit on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown that left him with a concussion.

During last seasons’ postseason, Vontaze Burfict hit Kansas City Chiefs full-back Anthony Sherman. He was suspended for five games, which was reduced to three, which he served at the start of the season.

The player has also been fined multiple times by the NFL for dangerous and unsportsmanlike conduct.

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Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals gave a three-year extension for a player they are used to coping without. Burfict also missed the first six games of the 2015 season while recovering from knee surgery. The Bengals have stuck by him through it all because when he’s available, he’s their most valuable defensive player.

However, prior to news of his suspension, there was talk of a trade to the Oakland Raiders. Cincinnati could very well cut their losses with Burfict to bring in a more stable player.

Either way, they’ll have to start the season well without him. Last season was the second straight year that the Bengals have failed to reach the playoffs. The team hasn’t won a postseason game since 1990. It’s the sixth longest playoff losing streak in the NFL.

The Bengals open their pre-season campaign against the Chicago Bears.