Vontaze Burfict was once tabbed as a First Round Pick when he was at Arizona State, but a poor attitude and an even weaker combine resulted in all 32 teams passing on the Linebacker in the 2012 Draft.  The Bengals signed him as an undrafted player, and that polarizing aura that he had as a Sun Devil followed him as a Bengal.

Burfict made the Bengals and was the starting Right Linebacker in the third game of his pro career.  He would record 127 Combined Tackles as a rookie, and in his second season, Burfict went to the Pro Bowl in a season where he led the NFL in Combined Tackles (171).  The first two seasons of Burfict's career were good, but the history of his poor temperament would rear its ugly head.

In 2014, a concussion cost him time, and he was fined continuously for illegal hits.  He appeared in more games in 2015 and had a good year, but he is mostly known for delivering a blow to Antonio Brown late in the AFC Wild Card Game when the Wide Receiver was considered defenseless.  An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty followed this penalty by Adam Jones, and the 30 combined yards led to a successful Field Goal attempt by the Steelers who won the game.

Burfict remained a dynamic linebacker for the Bengals over the next three seasons, but he never came close to a full season due to suspensions.  He was released after the 2018 Season, and joined Oakland, but he was again suspended, this time for a helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth week.  Due to his past infractions, he was suspended for the rest of the season, and he never played in the NFL again.

While his career was riddled with controversies, when he was on, few Linebackers could touch him.

This one should be interesting.

Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State in 2012, Vontaze Burfict arrived in Cincinnati with a reputation as a volatile, first-round talent whose draft stock plummeted following a disastrous Combine and off-field concerns. In Southern Ohio, Burfict evolved into one of the most brilliant—and deeply controversial—defensive linebackers of his generation, serving as the ferocious center of Marvin Lewis's defense.

At 6 feet 1 inch and 248 pounds, Burfict possessed elite football IQ, rapid-fire processing, and a bone-crushing physical presence over the middle. He cracked the starting lineup at weakside linebacker by Week 3 of his 2012 rookie campaign, compiling 127 combined tackles. He elevated his game to an all-pro level in 2013, leading the entire NFL with 171 combined tackles while adding 3.0 sacks and an interception. His dominant sophomore masterclass earned him First-Team All-Pro honors and his sole career Pro Bowl selection.

However, Burfict’s relentless style routinely crossed the threshold of legal play, resulting in a career defined as much by league discipline as elite instincts. After a severe concussion and knee surgery limited him to five games in 2014, he returned in 2015 to anchor another playoff run. That season ended in infamy during the 2015 AFC Wild Card Game against Pittsburgh, where Burfict delivered a brutal late hit to a defenseless Antonio Brown. The ensuing 15-yard penalty, paired with an unsportsmanlike conduct flag on Adam Jones, gifted the Steelers 30 field position yards to kick the game-winning field goal, cementing one of the most painful postseason collapses in Bengals history.

Suspensions for safety violations and banned substances repeatedly disrupted his availability over his final three seasons in Cincinnati (2016–2018). While his processing and diagnostic skills remained elite whenever he stepped on the field, he was never able to play a full 16-game slate again. Following the 2018 campaign, the Bengals released Burfict, and he spent one final, suspension-shortened season with the Oakland Raiders in 2019 before his NFL career ended.

Burfict played in 75 regular-season games (73 starts) and two playoff contests. He generated 604 combined tackles, 8.5 sacks, 34 tackles for loss, five interceptions, and four forced fumbles.