Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict will be eligible to return to the field on Nov. 1 in Pittsburgh, according to Cincinnati.com.
"It was simple (Lewis) just sat me down, asked me how I felt, I told him how I felt, but he just feels I'm not all the way there in his eyes, that he's been watching me the last three weeks and there's slight things I need to work on," said Burfict, via Cincinnati.com. "I was just going to focus on my lower body, and I'm just putting everything together now, and in seven weeks he thought it was going to be practical for me to get back on the field. Now I'm going through my own little training camp you could pretty much say."
Head coach Marvin Lewis placed Burfict on the PUP list because he felt that he would come back 100 percent. Burfict is a huge part of this team and is a cornerstone at the linebacker position.
Burfict went done against the Baltimore Ravens last season and has been getting better since the microfracture surgery in January. The 24-year-old linebacker is key to Cincinnati's success on defense, and without him back up linebacker Vincent Rey will have to step up in his absence. Rey Maualuga will also need to have a big impact, as he is one of the Bengals' other top linebackers.
In the 2013 season, Burfict had 171 combined tackles, three sacks and an interception. Burfict is one of the top linebackers in the game, and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther will be anxiously awaiting his return. The AFC North is always a tight division and three teams made the playoffs a season ago, so the Bengals will likely need their star linebacker coming down the stretch of the season.
