Oakland Raiders: Analyzing the impact of Vontaze Burfict’s suspension

Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict has been suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season. Here is an analysis of how this impacts the Raiders.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse for the Oakland Raiders linebacker core, middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict has reportedly been suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season.

This suspension, first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, comes on the heels of a hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle in the team’s Week 4 victory on Sunday. Burfict was flagged on the play and ejected from the game for what certainly looked like an unnecessary hit.

Burfict’s absence will have a significant effect on a Raiders defense that was already incredibly thin at the linebacker position. But before we jump into that, let’s talk about the suspension a little bit.

The Raiders knew of Burfict’s history when they signed him this offseason. The former Cincinnati Bengals enforcer had garnered a reputation as one of the dirtiest, no-nonsense players in the NFL after multiple prior fines and suspensions.

However, Burfict and the Raiders claimed that a new leaf had been turned over this season. He was even trusted with a captain role and assigned as the play-caller on defense.

Now, just four weeks into the season, Burfict has already made the Raiders looks silly.

The hit itself was unnecessary, there’s little arguing that. People could claim bias and compare it to other hits. They could complain about the NFL’s inconsistencies with suspensions.

But at the end of the day, Burfict deserved to be ejected and suspended for the hit. Did it warrant a season-long suspension? No probably not by itself. But his reputation speaks for itself and it must be taken into consideration when handing out punishments.

Unfortunately, his past finally caught up to him.

As for the Raiders, this is a massive blow to a defensive unit that had shown considerable growth at points this season. And with Marquel Lee already done for the season with an ankle injury, the Raiders are very thin at linebacker.

Expect the Raiders to slide Tahir Whitehead over to the MIKE position with Burfict out as the former Detroit Lions linebacker filled that role on Sunday following Burfict’s ejection.

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Whitehead served as the team’s MIKE linebacker and defensive play-caller last season, but Burfict’s knowledge of not only the game of football but defensive coordinator Paul Gunther’s system is not something that could be replicated.

As for the remainder of the linebacking core, Nicholas Morrow should continue to see time as a starter while the third linebacker position is completely up in the air.

Core special-teamer Kyle Wilber — once he returns from injury — and rookies Dakota Allen and Justin Phillips — neither of which have been on the active roster for a week yet — are the only other linebackers on the roster right now.

The Raiders could turn to external options to beef up their defense with veteran names such as Manti Te’o and Mason Foster still on the market. They could even look to bring back linebacker Jason Cabinda who spent time with the team last season after signing as an undrafted rookie out of Penn State.

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Cabinda is currently signed to the Detroit Lions practice squad but could be signed to the Raiders active roster if they choose to do so. Given his experience with the system, he seems like an obvious choice.

Also still available is Brandon Marshall who spent the preseason with the Raiders before being released as a part of final roster cuts. His veteran presence could be intriguing but he fits better as a weak-side linebacker than a true middle linebacker.

Either way, it will be difficult to match Burfict’s impact on defense. But that’s the price the team will have to pay for gambling on a risky offseason acquisition.

After all, this isn’t the first offseason gamble gone wrong this year.