Bengals' Burfict's suspension reduced to 3 games

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict had his five-game suspension reduced to three games.

ESPN's Josina Anderson was the first to report the story.

Burfict was sanctioned for an illegal hit on Kansas City Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman during the preseason.

The 26-year-old linebacker has been suspended and fined several times during his professional career for various infractions.

NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote Burfict the following statement informing him of his original suspension:

This is not your first offense with respect to illegal hits on defenseless players; to the contrary, this incident is consistent with your pattern of egregious safety-related violations including your hit on a defenseless player during the 2015 Wild Card game and your hit against a Baltimore tight end away from the play on January 3, 2016 " When players violate the rules intended to protect player safety on a repeated basis, and particularly when the violations carry with them a significant risk of injury to an opposing player " you must be held accountable for this continuing unacceptable conduct.

Both the Bengals and Burfict himself released statements, claiming that his hit on Sherman was legal.

"The Bengals are aware of the NFL's letter to Vontaze regarding a play in last weekend's game. The film shows that the hit was legal, that Vontaze engaged his opponent from the front, and that contact was shoulder-to-chest. The Club will support Vontaze in the appeal process," the team wrote Sunday.

Burfict also felt he contacted Sherman legally.

"I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best," Burfict said via the team's official website. "I feel like I've let down my teammates, but I also feel like I've done a good job with this. I only had one personal foul last year. We feel like this was a legal hit. I hit him in the shoulder. I hit hard, so it may have looked like I hit him in the head, but it was the shoulder. I helped him up and he said he was good and I asked if he was good on the next series and he said, 'Yeah, that was a legal hit.'

"The rules say you can eliminate a receiver within five yards of the line of scrimmage as long as you don't hit him in the head and I don't think I hit him in the head."

Burfict earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors in 2013 and is an integral part of the Bengals' defense.

Last season, Burfict recorded 101 tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and two interceptions in 11 games.

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