Ben Margot/Associated Press

Vontaze Burfict has played seven years in the NFL and has been suspended for 22 games and fined more than $5.3 million. The linebacker knows the perception that his hard-hitting play carries. It hasn't been easy for him to wear it.

"I think about how the world sees me. That bothers me. It bothers me a lot," Burfict told NFL.com's Tom Pelissero. "People think (from what they see in) football, 'that's how he is off the field.' Nah."

Twelve of the games Burfict has been suspended for took place last year after he made helmet-to-helmet contact with the Indianapolis Colts' Jack Doyle during Week 4. The punishment cost him the rest of the season-Burfict's first with the Raiders.

The 29-year-old was reinstated in late December, but his reputation hasn't been given the same reprieve.

"And I'm not going to lie, bro. The first two, three years, everybody was saying, '(He's) the villain.' You guys think I'm a villain? You just go on and live with it." Burfict said. "Then, it gets old, when you go out there and some fans think that I'm just out to hurt people. That's not the case."

Burfict has also earned a suspension from the league in 2017 and 2018. That's contributed to reputation of dirty hits and targeting that has made Burfict a villain around the league. A Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro in 2013, the Arizona State product says that's misplaced:

"You watch every person I come to try to tackle, they duck their head, and my target -- the first thing that happens is I have to duck my head, because why would I want their heads to be going into my sternum? So I have to protect myself as well out there. And yes, I'm a (big) linebacker, so when people see me -- what do you do when you see something just flying at you? You duck your head like, 'Oh, s--t!'"

At 6'1", 255 pounds, Burfict is a large presence on the field that earned a one-year, $2 million contract from the Raiders in 2019 that came with a $300,000 signing bonus. The Los Angeles native took that opportunity to try to change his image; however, after that hit in Week 4, he wasn't even allowed on the sidelines. Burfict said:

"I'm a tone-setter. But I can also be a vocal leader, and that's what I was trying to do (last season with the Raiders) before I got suspended -- trying to switch up my image and the way I play, the way people (perceive) me. You can tell how the years changed and the years evolved in football from Ray Lewis to Brian Urlacher to now. You watch Luke Kuechly, Lavonte David, me -- it's a totally different era, and watching how the eras have changed, you've got to change with it."

Now a free agent, Burfict, who turns 30 in September, will have to prove he's capable of that change as he looks to sign with a new team and stick on the field.

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