Raiders LB Vontaze Burfict suspended for rest of season for illegal hit on Jack Doyle

That hit Vontaze Burfict laid on Colts tight end Jack Doyle initially just drew a flag. It was clearly illegal as Burfict lowered his helmet into the side of Doyle’s helmet. Soon, there was more than just a penalty flag consideration, but ejection. After review Burfict was ejected. Here is the hit.

Once he was ejected, the question became if Burfict would miss more than just the final three quarters of this game, but be suspended as well. Not only was he suspended, but the NFL has ended his 2019 season.

This seems pretty extreme. This is clearly a consideration because of Burfict’s long history with dirty play.

Burfict has already been suspended several times for his hits, including his vicious hit that knocked out Antonio Brown in a game against the Steelers in 2016. That earned him a three-game suspension. That suspension came after a great many fines prior to that for dirty play.

The following season he had another vicious hit, this time in the preseason, that yielded a five-game suspension.

This is a significant blow for the Raiders. Burfict was brought in because he knows defensive coordinator Paul Guenther’s defense so well. Losing him after three and a half games would be yet another bad break for this Raiders team.