Bengals sign Vontaze Burfict to contract extension

The Cincinnati Bengals don’t shy way from players with baggage, and they have now made a commitment to Vontaze Burfict.

Due to how they operate their business, the Cincinnati Bengals generally end up with a lot of players that bring baggage with them because they can be gotten cheaper. Vontaze Burfict fits that mold as a first-round talent who went undrafted in 2012 due to character concerns from his time at Arizona State.

Burfict has been very productive, including 101 total tackles, eight pass breakups, two sacks and two interceptions in 11 games last season. But a combination of injuries and league discipline issues have constantly gotten in the way, and Burfict will serve a three-game suspension (reduced from five originally) to start this season due to a questionable hit on Chiefs’ fullback Anthony Sherman this preseason.

Burfict will always be in the in eye of any storm from the league office if he continue to straddle the line between legal and illegal hits. But the Bengals apparently want to keep him around a little while longer anyway.

First, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported the two sides were working toward a contract extension.

Then later on Thursday, Adam Schefter and others reported a done deal.

Exact financial terms have not yet been disclosed, but as always with an NFL contract, the structure and payout of the guaranteed money will be the key. It’s safe to assume the Bengals will be able to get out of the deal easily after the first or second year, though, with few if any financial implications. Any further suspensions will of course lead to game checks being docked by the league, which further reduces the risk of having Burfict under contract through 2020 now.

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When he’s on the field, Burfict is a key piece of the Bengals’ defense and he’s very well-regarded by the analytic community. Now, he’s got up to $38.68 million reasons to use better judgement on the field.