Ex-Raiders linebacker arrested on a battery charge

source: Oakland Raiders (2019)

(KTVU) -- Former Oakland Raiders linebacker, Vontaze Burfict, was arrested Saturday morning in Nevada, on a misdemeanor battery charge.

Clark County Detention records indicate Burfict was being held on $1,000 bond, with a hearing scheduled for Monday.

The specifics of the case have not been released.

Burfict signed a 1-year, $5 million deal with the Raiders last season.

But it ended abruptly, after he was suspended for the rest of the season for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle in September 2019.

The NFL had since reinstated Burfict, but he remained a free agent and unable to find another team willing to give him another opportunity.

His agent told the NFL Network in February, before the pandemic, that the 30-year-old Burfict was trying to change his playing style to conform to the league's safety rules.

Burfict has a long history of fines and suspensions, for illegal hits on players during his career.

Vontaze Burfict grew up in Los Angeles and starred at Arizona State, before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012. 

He played 7 seasons with the Bengals and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2013, but was often disciplined by the NFL, including a hit that knocked out then-Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Antonio Brown in 2016.