To the surprise of few, Cincinnati Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict is currently facing a five game suspension, per Adam Schefter.

Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict is facing 5-game suspension for an illegal hit against a Chiefs FB Anthony Sherman this month, sources tell ESPN.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 28, 2017

The hit in the discussion came during the Bengals’ most recent game versus the Kansas City Chiefs; against fullback Anthony Sherman. This doesn’t surprise Steelers fans who are extremely familiar with Burfict’s history of dirty hits and efforts to injure other players.

Here is the play:

It’s pretty clear that the hit is not clean. Many are surprised by the potential punishment Burfict is facing from the hit, but the price seems fair when examining Burfict’s history.

Before we break down the legality of the hit and the potential five game suspension, lets take a look at Burfict’s history of dirty play for some context.

History

Burfict’s history has a major influence on this punishment, which was confirmed in a tweet by Ian Rapoport.

Vontaze Burfict’s suspension is based on…1: Him hitting with his shoulder & helmet to Anthony Sherman’s head & neck area. 2: Repeat offender

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 28, 2017

Here are two examples of his past play to refresh your memory.

This first clip is a hit versus Steelers WR Antonio Brown during the 2015 playoffs.

This hit is legitimately scary to watch. Burfict nails Brown in the head and could have caused some serious damage to the receiver, both physically and mentally.

This next clip is of a game against the Baltimore Ravens during week 17 of the 2015 season where Burfict illegally hits TE Maxx Williams.

This hit is similar to the Sherman hit over the weekend where he targets a player who is out of the play.

Thankfully this play and the rest of his activity didn’t go unnoticed by the league; in 2016 he was suspended for the first three games of the season due to the combination of all his dirty hits during the season.

For further context, consider this number: $700,000. That’s the amount of salary Burfict has forfeited due to fines and suspensions throughout his four year career according to Fox Sports. For some players that is an entire season worth of pay.

Similarly to how the NFL punishes players for repeated drug usage, Burfict’s punishments need to be gradually increased because of this pattern of aggressiveness and ignorance of player safety.

Legality

A common defense that I’ve seen for Burfict is that defensive players are allowed to make ‘contact’ within the five yard line. This statement is true as shown in the excerpt below from the NFL rule book.

ARTICLE 1. LEGAL CONTACT WITHIN FIVE YARDS

Within the area five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, a defensive player may chuck an eligible receiver in front of him. The defender is allowed to maintain continuous and unbroken contact within the five-yard zone, so long as the receiver has not moved beyond a point that is even with the defender.

For those wondering what the definition of “chucking” is, here’s the rule book’s guideline:

SECTION 5 – CHUCKING

Chucking is intentionally contacting an eligible receiver who is in front of a defender.

As you can see, making contact with a player within the five yard line is completely legal. However, it must happen under proper circumstances.

Here is another excerpt from the rule book stating when this contact is legal:

ARTICLE 5. LEGAL USE OF HANDS OR ARMS BY DEFENSE
A defensive player may use his hands, arms, or body to push, pull, or ward off offensive players:

1-when he is defending himself against an obstructing opponent while attempting to reach the runner

2-when an opponent is obviously attempting to block him

3-in a personal attempt to reach a loose ball that has touched the ground during a backward pass, fumble, or kick

4-during a forward pass that has crossed the neutral zone and has been touched by any player.

Exception 1: An eligible receiver is considered to be an obstructing opponent only to a point five yards beyond the line of scrimmage unless the player who receives the snap demonstrates no further intention to pass the ball (including handing off the ball, pitching the ball, or moving out of the pocket).

Anthony Sherman fits none of this criteria. On the play, Sherman was not attempting to block Burfict or even make any type of contact with him. That eliminates a rebuttal of Article 5, subsections one through three from Burfict. During the play, the ball had crossed the the line of scrimmage, and the neutral zone, but it had not been touched by nor come into contact with the receiver. That eliminates a rebuttal on Article 5, subsection four.

We haven’t even discussed the legality of the ‘force’ of the hit. Here is an excerpt from the NFL rule book on contact with a defenseless player:

ARTICLE 7. PLAYERS IN A DEFENSELESS POSTURE

Prohibited contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture is:

1-forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, even if the initial contact is lower than the player’s neck, and regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him

3-illegally launching into a defenseless opponent. It is an illegal launch if a player (i) leaves both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into his opponent, and (ii) uses any part of his helmet to initiate forcible contact against any part of his opponent’s body. (This does not apply to contact against a runner, unless the runner is still considered to be a defenseless player, as defined in Article 7.)

Burfict’s hit on Sherman easily violates the criteria in Article 7.

As you can see in the picture below, Burfict launched into Sherman and both feet left the ground, which is illegal per the rules in Article 7, as stated above.

Along with both feet leaving the playing surface, Burfict makes contact with Sherman’s helmet. This action is illegal regardless of whether the contact is with the helmet or another part of the defender. In this case, Burfict makes the contact with his shoulder.

Per Ian Rapoport’s tweet above, the contact with Sherman’s head is a major factor in this case.

Justification & Impact

If this play was a one-time incident for Burfict, then a five game suspension would certainly be unfair. We often see players get hit in the head during football games – it’s unfortunate, but accidents happen. That isn’t the case here, however. Burfict has a clear history of dirty or illegal hits and intentionally harming players – analysts, players, and coaches have all called him out on it.

Now, more than ever, the league is focusing on player safety considering the flood of research on head trauma and CTE that has accumulated and Burfict running around on the field trying to harm players goes against all of the league’s efforts to protect their players. We are in an age where players are retiring in their mid-to-low twenties because they fear possible brain damage that can come from collisions and contact in football.

While I advocate for hard, aggressive football, there is no justification for head-shots and intentional harm.

Burfict’s actions are getting to the point where a zero-tolerance policy must be in play – or at least heavily considered. If he repeatedly displays a lack of discipline and care for another player’s well-being, then he should continue to face consequences for these types of hits. As I said previously, this isn’t simply an isolated incident; this is a pattern.

A five game suspension is more than fair if it will finally send a message to the Burfict and the Bengals. If the message isn’t received, Burfict should continue to be suspended from the NFL, maybe even permanently.