Vontaze Burfict placed on IR, ending his season

The nightmarish season for Vontaze Burfict officially came to an end today as he was placed on injured reserve by the Bengals.

Burfict underwent knee surgery in October and was then expected to return in a month or maybe less depending on his rehab, but instead couldn't recover and now will watch the rest of the year from the sideline.

The 2013 Pro Bowl linebacker who led the NFL with 171 tackles, only played in 223 snaps this year or about 20 percent of the Bengals total defensive plays thus far.

He remains in rehab from the knee injury suffered Oct. 26 vs. Baltimore. Burfict started five games, finished only two, with 29 tackles, two passes defensed and a fumble recovery.

His troubles began long before the arthroscopic knee surgery. He suffered a concussion in each of his first two games and was forced out of two games completely, having to others early.

Also, in a game against Carolina, the linebacker was fined $25K for wrenching the ankles of Cam Newton and Greg Olsen long after plays had ended.

This tumultuous season began with Burfict signing a four-year, $20 million contract extension. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, he reportedly agreed to the deal in mid-August, but a week went by as the linebacker wavered on if he wanted to sign the deal.

Burfict eventually signed Aug. 27 for the deal that locks him to the Bengals through the 2017 season.