Oakland Raiders: 5 players with the most to prove in 2019

Vontaze Burfict

Believe it or not, there are some of us out here who think the signing of Vontaze Burfict is fraught with more risk than Richie Incognito. And cue the ridicule and howls of outrage.

Make no mistake, Incognito’s part in the bullying scandal down in Miami is reprehensible and there is no way to spin it. What he did and what he said is disgusting. That being said, there is a lot to that story none of us know — and will never know.

Incognito’s other indiscretions have painted a very clear picture of an unstable person. However, that instability and whatever mental health challenges he has can be contained with therapy and/or medication.

Also, Incognito’s indiscretions, by and large, have taken place off the field.

When we’re talking about Burfict though, his record of trouble is lengthy as a copy of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” His troubles have all come on the field — and they’ve all cost his team.

If you’re looking at this from a football-only perspective — which is the aim of this article — Burfict is a far bigger risk than Incognito. Over his seven seasons in the league, he’s racked up a significant amount of suspension time and has racked up more in fines than some people will make in a lifetime.

Burfict has put his team in bad positions with plays many describe as dirty (though others describe it simply as hard-nosed football) time and time again. He’s cost his team field position, points, and games because he can’t seem to play within the bounds of the NFL’s rule book.

He also hasn’t played a full slate of games since 2014.

And yet, he’s played some (emphasis on some) good football and has put up some decent seasons under Paul Guenther. His first two seasons in the league, Burfict kept his nose (relatively) clean and looked like he had the potential to be a force on the defensive side of the ball.

It’s that version of Vontaze Burfict that Guenther and the Raiders are hoping to harness. Whether they’ll be able to or not, we’ll just have to wait and see.

The Raiders rolled the dice on Burfict and in some ways, some of us believe he’s got even more to prove than Incognito.