It seemed like only a matter of time before Vontaze Burfict said something unflattering about his former team.
Once one of the NFL’s best young defensive players, Burfict’s career took a turn for the worst after his Pro Bowl season with the Bengals in 2013. After not missing a game in his first two seasons, Burfict would go on to miss 37 games over the next five seasons due to injuries and suspensions.
That led to the Bengals cutting Burfict this offseason before he eventually signed with the Raiders.
Now, Burfict and his new team are set to appear on HBO’s Hard Knocks. Before the season debut, a sneak preview of the show saw Burfict make a comment about his new team that was also a jab at his former club.
“I just think it’s exciting for people to see what type of team we have because the team chemistry we have is just amazing,” Burfict said via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “This is my second team, but it’s the first time I’ve had a team like this and everybody gets along. It doesn’t matter what type of day it is. We’re all here to see each other get better and motivate each other. We’ve got a lot of characters, in a good way.”
Burfict suggesting the Bengals didn’t get along with each other is interesting, especially when you consider he’s now playing with Antonio Brown. You’d be hard-pressed to find two players in the NFL with more friction than those two, but perhaps they’ve mended the fences and are now good pals.
Now, the Bengals were certainly a team in disarray over the last three seasons when they went a combined 19-28-1, so it’s fair to think a lot of the players may have not gotten along then. But for Burfict to act like he’s never been part of a team that played for each other and had good chemistry is a farce.