Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr offered an impassioned defense of suspended middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict in London on Wednesday, and coach Jon Gruden told reporters he is "not happy ... at all" with the NFL's decision to sideline Burfict for the remainder of the season.
Carr said Burfict is "one of the most misunderstood people in the NFL" and had become one of his favorite teammates in their short time together.
"I don't think he was trying to hurt that man; the man was going down," Carr said of Burfict's helmet-to-helmet hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle on Sunday, which triggered the suspension a day later.