The manner in which Vontaze Burfict reacted after his second-quarter tackle that injured Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell has drawn the ire of some of Bell's teammates, who claimed the Bengals linebacker ran off the field in celebration after the play.
Bell had his right leg pinned underneath Burfict on an eight-yard reception during the second quarter of Sunday's loss to the Bengals and had to be carted off the field. After making the tackle, Burfict ran across the field and was "hyped, celebrating, jumping up and down" on his way to the Bengals sideline, according to Steelers guard Ramon Foster.
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"He's that type of guy," Foster told reporters after the 16-10 loss, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "That type of guy gets his sooner or later. So, wait and see, I guess. He's that type of guy, period. If you're on the field with him, you know what I mean by that. They'll play it off; he'll act dumb about it. But you don't run across the field hyped, celebrating, jumping up and down when a guy goes down like that."
Steelers tackle Marcus Gilbert called Burfict's behavior "bulls—."
In the Bengals locker room, Burfict said his reaction was wrongly perceived; he ran away because he "heard a snap and was horrified."
"I didn’t mean to hurt him, but I mean it’s football," Burfict said. "You get hurt sometimes. I told some of his teammates it wasn’t intentional, it wasn’t an intentional hit. Hopefully he’s gonna come back stronger."
Bell reportedly has a badly-torn MCL, an injury that could cost him the rest of the season. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Bell will have an MRI on Monday to reveal the severity.
Burfict, activated off the PUP list this week, has a reputation for being a dirty player dating back to his college days. He was fined $25,000 for twisting the ankles of multiple Panthers players during a game last season.
