If and when Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh hits the open market in March — and all signs point to him becoming a free agent — there will be no shortage of suitors for the four-time all-pro.
Suh, who had 8 1/2 sacks during the regular season and 2 1/2 sacks in Detroit’s playoff loss at Dallas on Sunday, was the player most responsible for the Lions’ top-ranked rushing defense and would instantly improve any team’s defensive line. But Suh has also been fined seven times for player-safety violations since 2010 and was suspended for two games for intentionally stomping on the right arm of Packers lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith in 2011. Suh was initially suspended for Sunday’s playoff game after he stepped on Aaron Rodgers’s calf during the final game of the regular season, but the suspension was overturned.
The Redskins, who tied for 21st in the NFL sacks and were 12th in rushing defense, could certainly use Suh, but is he worth the risk for a price that could exceed the $100 million contract J.J. Watt signed in September? Comcast SportsNet analyst Brian Mitchell says yes.
Mitchell invoked a phrase from former Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson in arguing that the Redskins should absolutely pursue Suh, character issues and all.
“[Thompson] said I’d rather calm a fool than resurrect a corpse,” Mitchell said during Monday’s episode of ‘SportsTalk Live.’ “Ndamukong Suh occasionally is a fool on the football field, but he’s dominant. He’s a guy who lives in the backfield, he stops the run. That team was very good against the run because he lived in people’s backfield. Now, we sat here for year after year after year, hearing this trash about let’s get character guys. We have a bunch of character guys who can’t play football, OK?
“I will say this: Is it a risk to bring him in? Yes. But are you willing to take the risk for a talent like him? I will say yes, because I don’t think anybody in the last 24 years that I’ve been in this town is more dominant or better than he is on a football field. And if you’re going to get over that hump, you have to bring in star players. Dominant players. Not a bunch of ‘character guys’ all the time. Character guys, everyone always says, ‘Oh, the team is so nice,’ and you’re 4-12, and you’re 3-13.”
And then there’s the issue of the salary cap. Mitchell’s colleague, Rich Tandler, says Suh would cost too much for the Redskins to “reasonably afford.” Tandler suggested the Redskins could consider Suh’s teammate and fellow defensive tackle Nick Fairley instead.
