CINCINNATI -- For Vontaze Burfict, a meeting with Roger Goodell can't come soon enough.
Citing a source close to the Bengals linebacker, ESPN is reporting that Burfict hopes Goodell will reduce his three-game suspension and wants to meet with the NFL commissioner at his soonest convenience.
Burfict was suspended Monday for “repeated violations of safety-related playing rules,” according to an NFL news release.
NFL Vice President Merton Hanks said Burfict’s hit on Antonio Brown in the final seconds of Saturday’s wild-card playoff game against the Steelers put Brown at “an unnecessary risk for injury and should have been avoided.”
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Burfict's agent told the NFL he planned to appeal the suspension. The suspension could cost Burfict $502,941 of his 2016 base salary if it's upheld, ESPN reported.
Burfict is no stranger to safety-related violations. He was fined four times this past season, including a $50,000 fine for unnecessarily contacting an opponent who was out of play in the Bengals Jan. 3 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
