On Sunday afternoon, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict had his latest run-in with the rules, when he was run off the field for making contact with an official. Although he was ejected, the video suggests something far less egregious than the Marshawn Lynch shove-unshove of an official.
It didn’t keep Burfict in the game, but it could help him avoid a suspension. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, all things will be considered when the time comes to determining discipline -- the action, the context, and Burfict’s history of infractions.
As another source pointed out, the league typically prefers not to suspend a player who was already ejected. (Lynch was an exception, perhaps since he both exited the sideline and shoved/unshoved the official.)
Three weeks ago, Burfict avoided a suspension for pushing both feet in to the helmet of Steelers fullback Roosevelt Nix. But Burfict was fined $12,154. Burfict was suspended for the first three games of the regular season for an illegal preseason hit on Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman.