Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict makes camp debut

A familiar face returned at an unfamiliar pace Thursday afternoon as Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict made his training-camp debut after spending the first week on the active/non-football injury list.

“It’s great to be out here with my teammates competing,” Burfict said. “I got tired.”

Looking quite a bit heavier than his 2015 listed weight of 250, Burfict took part in everything from position drills to full 11-on-11 work.

“The first day out here I had the little jitterbugs coming out here,” he said. “I felt good, and my injury feels good. Everyone else had three days ahead of me with pads and everything so the first day I put the pads on, I felt a little heavy. You just have to get used to it.”

Early in 7-on-7 drills, Burfict broke up a pass from AJ McCarron intended for tight end John Peters.

“We’ll bring him back slowly,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said before clarifying the comment with “we’ll TRY to bring him back slowly.

“I’m not looking for anything special out of Vontaze,” Lewis added. “Just go out and practice and do his job. This is not an eye-opening day for Vontaze Burfict, so nothing special out of him. Just stay healthy.”

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Jay Morrison