Ndamukong Suh still has three years left on the six-year deal he signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2015. Is the team finally ready to move on from him?
CBS Sports Jason La Canfora wrote the following in a column published Wednesday about teams facing big offseasons:
Confidants of owner Stephen Ross told me during the season that the owner was ready to move on from defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, set to count a staggering $26 million against the cap.
As La Canfora said, Suh is making just about $17 million in base salary for 2018 and counts for $26.1 million against the cap, per Spotrac. If they are really desperate to get rid of him, they could designate him a post June 1 cut.
Suh is still a valuable player, so it’s possible Ross’ feelings will have either changed or he could be talked out of wanting to get rid of Suh. Either way, his status is something to watch.
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has apparently worn out his welcome in Miami.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Suh is not in the Miami Dolphins’ plans beyond the 2017 season, with the team left underwhelmed by both his production and his on-field behavior.
Despite a contract that would leave the Dolphins with a $26 million cap hit in 2018, Suh has failed to significantly improve a run defense that finished 28th in 2015, his first year there, and regressed to 30th in 2016.
In addition, there are issues with teammates, who view him as “aloof,” and discipline — La Canfora says incidents like his throat grab of Ryan Mallett, while not necessarily the entire reason, will only accelerate his departure from the team.
Such is Miami’s eagerness to move on from Suh that they would reportedly be willing to swallow a $13 million cap hit in 2019 to see him off.
Between the underwhelming and occasionally dirty play and incidents like this one that have rubbed teammates the wrong way, the Suh experiment simply has not worked out for Miami. It’s easy to see why they’re ready to get out of it.
Ndamukong Suh committed yet another dirty play in Thursday night’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and his explanation for the latest act that will likely result in a fine — and possibly more — is as weak as it gets.
Following the game, Suh told reporters that he was just trying to defend himself when he grabbed Ravens quarterback Ryan Mallett by the throat.
“Simple as this: He came at me and tried to attack me, and I’m protecting myself,” Suh said, per Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I’m never going to regret protecting myself.”
Mallett got upset that Suh gave him a shove after the play was whistled dead for offsides, so he got in the defensive tackle’s face. Apparently Suh felt he was in such grave danger that the only way he could protect himself was by trying to choke Mallett. Here is the video:
Because Suh has such a long history of committing dirty plays, his explanation isn’t going to hold any weight. Mallett was only in the game because Joe Flacco exited after taking a brutal hit from one of Suh’s teammates, so things got as ugly as possible for the Dolphins in their 40-0 loss. It also appeared that Miami’s William Hayes poked a Baltimore player in the eye.
Naturally, Suh downplayed the various cheap shots.
“I think guys just want to go out there and play and compete at the end of the day,” he said. “For me I’m going to continue playing and going as hard as I can, trying to make plays whatever the score is. I’m going to be out there and be physical, go out there and try to make plays, TFLs (tackles for losses), whatever it is.
“I’m not going to lay down. I’ve never been that guy, never will be that guy.”
Suh can have fun explaining all of that to the league office.
Two Miami Dolphins appeared to commit two dirty plays on the same sequence against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, including a throat grab by Ndamukong Suh.
Suh jumped the snap on a third-and-1 play in the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens. He got physical with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Ryan Mallett after jumping the snap, leading Mallett to say something to Suh. Suh responded by grabbing the quarterback by the throat.
Then as the teams were gathered following the dead play, Ravens offensive lineman Austin Howard complained that he had been poked in the eye by Miami’s Williams Hayes.
Suh and Hayes were both called for personal fouls. The Ravens ended up recovering a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown on the possession.
Both Suh and Hayes could be facing additional discipline from the league.
NFL contracts are often a hot-button issue. People love to debate who’s making too much, too little, who deserves more and who is overpaid. Some athletes outplay their deals, while others cash in and fail to deliver. Teams obviously try hard to avoid the latter situation, but sometimes things don’t work out as hoped.
With all of that in mind, here’s a look at the worst contract on every NFL team.
Arizona Cardinals – Jermaine Gresham, tight end
The Cardinals put an emphasis on re-signing tight end Jermaine Gresham and as a result, may have drastically over-paid for him. He hasn’t had over 460 yards receiving since 2012, has seen his catch rate hover around 60% in each of the previous two seasons and hasn’t scored more than two touchdowns since 2014. Those are mediocre numbers at best for a player signed to a four-year, $28 million contract with $16.5 million guaranteed.
Atlanta Falcons – Brooks Reed, defensive end
Brooks Reed is not exactly a bad player — he’s a high-motor guy who plays a very defined role. Of course, when the Falcons signed him to a five-year, $22 million deal in 2015 they expected much more. Instead, what they’ve gotten for $9 million guaranteed is 42 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble in 28 games.
Baltimore Ravens – Joe Flacco, quarterback
When the Ravens signed Joe Flacco to a monstrous $120.6 million deal in 2013, many foresaw potential issues looming. However, at the time, Flacco was coming off of a magical postseason run that culminated with a Super Bowl XLVII victory. He had earned his money. But in 2016, facing a massive cap number, Baltimore was forced to extend Flacco with a three-year, $66.4 million deal. Now under contract through 2021, Flacco has cap hits above $24 million beginning next year and throughout the remainder of his deal, large dead cap numbers that render him uncuttable and guarantees that make him untradeable. Arguably, it’s the worst contract in the NFL.
(more…)
The New England Patriots have a dynasty going, but Ndamukong Suh is not fearful of them.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier recently said the league has a “Patriots problem,” in light of New England’s dominance. During an interview with ESPN’s Dianna Russini that aired Monday, Suh was asked whether he thinks the Patriots are a tough, unbeatable force. He said no.
“I think the Patriots are definitely beatable,” Suh told Russini. “It’s just a matter of playing a good game — almost a perfect game in a lot of ways, because they’ve got great coaching and obviously great players and talent on their side of the ball. So you’ve got to be going on all cylinders. Without question, I have a ton of respect for them, but they’re definitely beatable as everybody is in the league.”
I’m not sure Shazier’s point was that the Patriots are unbeatable, which is what was proposed to Suh in the question. But everyone agrees that the Patriots are a tough presence every single year. They are not unbeatable — they lost twice last season — and the Falcons had them on the ropes in the Super Bowl before collapsing.
Sure, New England improved over the offseason, but none of their opponents — much less a division rival, should feel like the Patriots are unbeatable.
Most athletes dream about making it to the Hall of Fame someday. Ndamukong Suh is bold enough to admit it publicly.
The Miami Dolphins defensive tackle admitted that, despite still being relatively young, he has already thought about being enshrined in Canton.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t,” Suh said, via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “Everybody thinks about the Hall of Fame. One of the first trips I took, I remember going to the Hall of Fame in Canton. I’ve been a couple of times. I went to see teammates there for breaking particular records — Calvin [Johnson], Matt Stafford, other guys like that. I’d love to be a part of it.
“Charlie Sanders, one of the best [tight ends] in Detroit Lions history, to be there with him, to see his bust, and obviously unfortunately he passed recently, it was special to me. I was really close to him. But yeah, of course you think about the Hall of Fame. But I’m very young. I think at this stage, I have a lot of work ahead of me.”
Suh has some more immediate goals, but why not aim high? He’s been an impact player at his position — but he’s correct. He has a long way to go.
H/T ProFootballTalk
Ndamukong Suh has reached the playoffs in three of his seven seasons as an NFL player, but he’s never advanced further than that.
Two of Suh’s playoff seasons came in Detroit, while his latest was last season with Miami.
On Tuesday, Suh expressed frustration over not advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs.
“I’m definitely sick and tired of making it to the playoffs and not going further,” Suh said via the Miami Herald’s Adam H. Beasley. “I think everybody feels that way. … It feels like guys weren’t satisfied with where we were at. It’s exciting, from my vantage point, to see hunger still. That was not OK the way we finished, especially the last two games of our season.”
The Dolphins were lit up in the final two games of the season, losing by a combined score of 65-26. A lot of that has to do with losing Ryan Tannehill to injury, but Suh still takes it upon himself to make sure the defense performs better.
Entering his third season with Miami, Suh referred to himself as the “anchor” of the Dolphins’ defense and says he intends to improve this year. He certainly has the right attitude.
Ndamukong Suh was once again accused of playing dirty in Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, and he once again does not seem to care.
When Suh was informed that Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount called him a “dirty player” who is disliked by some of his own teammates, the star defensive lineman didn’t have a whole lot to say.
“Guys are just children sometimes, but at the end of the day you take care of your business and continue to play as I did,” Suh said, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.
Blount was upset after he was flagged for retaliating against Suh, who had shoved Blount as he was getting up off the ground.
“There’s not many guys in this league like that guy,” Blount said. “He’s a dirty player. He’s always been a dirty player. There’s no room in the game for that. At some point in time, guys have to defend themselves when he’s doing the things that he does.”
Earlier in the game, Suh flattened a Patriots offensive lineman after he jumped offsides. You can see a video of that play here.
Of course, none of this is a revelation. Suh is known for throwing cheap shots at opponents, and he never apologizes for his actions. You could argue that his style of play gives him an edge, but he crosses the line far too often. Blount is only the latest to call Suh out over it.
Ndamukong Suh was apparently up to some of his old tricks on Sunday, and New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount lambasted the star defensive lineman for it after the game.
Following the Patriots’ 35-14 win over the Miami Dolphins, Blount was asked about a minor scuffle he got into with Suh. Blount was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for retaliating when Suh shoved him as Blount was getting up off the ground.
Earlier in the game, Suh threw a cheap shot at a Patriots offensive lineman when he jumped offsides.
This isn’t the first time Suh has been accused of playing dirty, and it likely won’t be the last. He doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt because he has blatantly stomped on opponents on numerous occasions and even kicked one opposing quarterback in the groin. Blount’s assessment was pretty accurate.
