Greg Olsen called out Vontaze Burfict for intentionally trying to injure him and his teammates.
The Carolina Panthers tight end was vocal Monday after his team’s 37-37 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and said there were three different instances where the linebacker tried to hurt players.
“At some point, if the NFL wants to really say they care about guys’ safety, they’ve got to start putting guys out for weeks,” Olsen said via ESPN. “Me and Cam (Newton) are lucky we aren’t out for weeks, or Kelvin (Benjamin) isn’t out for weeks. If you’re going to start putting guys on other teams out, then the ramifications need to equal that.”
Burfict, who has been fined on three separate occasions throughout his career for dangerous hits, appeared to be twisting Newton’s ankle after his 12-yard rushing touchdown. Later in the game, he wrenched Olsen’s ankle by rolling over with the tight end’s ankle caught between his legs.
Burfict finally got nailed with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after hitting Benjamin, who was a defenseless receiver.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis pushed aside the accusations and defended his player.
“No, I don’t have any comment on it,” Lewis said via ESPN. “Ankle wrenching? That sounds like the WWF.”
Photo via Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports Images
