It’s official: Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict will miss the first three games of the 2016 season due to his actions in Saturday’s AFC Wild Card game against Pittsburgh. Between a shoulder-to-helmet hit on Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and a very suspicious hit on Ben Roethlisberger that sent the quarterback to the locker room, it seemed like a given that Burfict would be sidelined, and it became official on Monday night.
Vontaze Burfict has been suspended for the first three games of the 2016 regular-season, per NFL.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 12, 2016
The amazing thing about this suspension is that the league just doesn’t sideline players for this length of time due to on-field incidents. Sure, a handful of players were suspended for longer stretches this season – most notably former Jets defensive end IK Enemkpali, who received a four-game punishment for punching Geno Smith and breaking his jaw – but that was for an off-the-field event. This year also featured a handful of suspensions for other off-the-field incidents, like Jets wide receiver Quincy Enunwa and former Cowboys running back Joseph Randle getting four games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
As for on-field incidents, it’s really rare to see them go for more than a game or two. The two most recent suspensions for things that happened during a game involved Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib – both got one game for various infractions on the field in 2015. The most recent multi-game suspension for an on-field incident came when ex-Redskins safety Brandon Merriweather committed an illegal hit on then-Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith during a preseason game in 2014 – but he still only got two games. Even when Ndamukong Suh infamously stomped on Evan Dietrich-Smith in 2011, he only received a two-game ban.
If you want to find an incident where: A) the league suspended someone for three or more games and B) it had to do with something that happened during a game, you have to go back to 2006. Then-Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth stomped on the unexposed head of Cowboys center Andre Gurode and received a four-game suspension.
Outside of that, seeing the league suspend someone for three or more games due to something that happened on the field is exceedingly rare.
