Ranking the dirtiest NFL players in history

A couple of weeks ago, the NFL was captured by Azeez Al-Shaair's late hit on Trevor Lawrence, with the Texans linebacker facing accusations of being a dirty player who was head-hunting. It made us wonder who the truly dirtiest players in NFL history are, so we went back through the archives and compiled a list!

We wanted to differentiate between hard hitting players and dirty ones. Someone like Brian Dawkins was known as being one of the most physical players in the league during his career, but few would have considered him dirty.

Jon Runyan had a solid NFL career with the Titans and the Eagles, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2002. What sticks out most, though, was his willingness to break every rule in the book before giving up a sack, and if you touched his QB, he was going to make you hurt. Ironically, he's now the NFL's Vice President of the Policy and Rules administration…

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It's tough to call Deacon Jones dirty, as the 'head slap' move he used to such great effect wasn't outlawed until after he retired from the game. Still, when your signature move is to slap an opponent so hard on their helmet's ear hole that they're momentarily stunned, you're probably worthy of a spot on this list!

FanBuzz described Dick Butkus as the “Ivan Drago of football,” which is probably fair. It was never so much dirty play from Butkus as it was a complete disregard for his opponent's safety and well-being. As the Rocky IV villain said, “if he dies, he dies.”

Albert Haynesworth squandered his immense talent once he earned a giant contract with Washington. He was known for taking plays off and not paying attention to coaches or teammates during his time in the capital. His reputation wasn't helped when he stamped on Dallas center, Andre Gurode's face, leading to severe injuries for Gurode, and a five-game suspension for Haynesworth.

We hate to cast too much judgment over someone we have never met, but given the myriad accusations against Richie Incognito, we feel safe saying he's probably not a good guy. From his racist bullying of Jonathan Martin to his regular on-field violence, Incognito was anything but that during his football career.

By all accounts, Jack Tatum was a great player, but his career was overshadowed by the sheer violence of his play. In one instance, he hit Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley so hard it rendered him paralyzed, with Tatum never formally apologizing for the hit, per Stadium Talk.

Harrison was a force during his career, delivering violent tackles like they were going out of fashion. The long-term Pittsburgh Steeler made opponents fear going near him if they had the ball, or, in some cases, didn't. 

Per FanBuzz, Harrison won the award for the NFL's dirtiest player three times, as voted on by opposing players and coaches. The Chargers and Patriots safety was a brutal tackler, often aiming for the opponent's head. In one instance, he hit Jerry Rice so hard it led to a suspension, in 2002, when the rules were much looser around this sort of thing!

Roy Williams had a reputation for being both a great player, and as the king of the horse collar tackle. The banned maneuver of grabbing your opponent by their pads and hauling them to the ground has caused numerous injuries over the years, and Williams was seemingly unwilling to tackle any other way.

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When you're featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with a title reading, “Is Chuck Cecil Too Vicious For The NFL?” as Cecil was in 1993, you probably have an unfortunate reputation. Cecil was a punishing tackler who had no regard for his, or his opponent's body as he constantly dove helmet first into tackles.

Hines Ward was a tough and gritty player during his career, but he also developed a reputation for brutal 'crack-back' blocks, where you hit a completely blindsided opponent in one of the most dangerous plays in sports. Ward's blocking was so brutal, he even once broke the jaw of Bengal's linebacker Keith Rivers.

Romanowski's rap sheet is as long as any player's in the NFL. Just some of the incidents include spitting in the face of an opposing wide receiver and breaking Jerry Collins' jaw. One moment saw the linebacker sink even lower, pulling off a teammate's helmet during a scrimmage and sucker-punching them, breaking their jaw and ending their career.

One of the best defensive tackles of his era, there was no need for Ndamukong Suh to be overly violent or dirty, yet he chose to be anyway. His go-to move of stomping on already downed opponents was as consistent as it was dirty.

Vontaze Burfict was apparently intent on trying to end the career of anyone who was wearing a different uniform than him. Perhaps the most consistent head-hunter the league has ever seen, and as a result lost out on nearly $5 million due to suspensions and fines, per the Guardian.

Conrad Dobler was someone who simply didn't care about the well-being of his opponents. Like Chuck Cecil, he was also featured on a SI cover due to the violent nature of his play. Per Stadium Talk, incidents included punching an opponent and spitting on Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey as he lay on the ground following a career-ending injury!

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