Indianapolis Colts must make Ndamukong Suh their top free agent target

All signs are pointing to Ndamukong Suh and the Detroit Lions not being able to settle on a long-term deal and the team letting their Pro-Bowl/destroyer of men defensive tackle test the open market. If this does happen, and for the sake of this article I will from now on assume it’ll happen, Suh will instantly catapult to the top of the arbitrary list that is the top free agents in 2015.

And if (but really when) this does happen, if I’m Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, I’m strapping Jim Irsay into his booster seat and breaking every speed limit to get to Suh.

For the second year in a row, the Colts were ousted from the playoffs thanks to the defense’s inability to stop the running game. Specifically it was New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount, who again dismantled a porous Colts’ defense en route to a crushing defeat. If the Colts want to have any hope of getting past the Patriots in 2015, they need to fix their inability to defend the run. Ideally they should just cut everyone and start over, but that probably won’t go over well with the fans.

However, Suh has all the skill and talent to instantly help against the run. This past season, Suh was the leader in a Lions’ defense that was best in the league at shutting down opponent’s rushing attacks. Putting him in the middle of their defense would instantly give the Colts the on-field boost they so desperately need, but Suh would also bring a lot of attitude and nastiness that seems to be missing from the Colts.

Now the Colts will not only have to compete with other teams that are willing to shell out the money for the star defensive tackle, they’ll first have to figure out if the risk would be worth the reward.

Suh has quite the history of less than pleasing on-field antics, most notably his casual stomp on Aaron Rodgers in which his feet were too numb to tell the difference between Rodgers’ calf and the ground (his words, not mine).

The Colts do have a trick up their sleeve, as Pagano has dealt with plenty of dirty players in the past (he coached the Baltimore Ravens’ defense for crying out loud) and could be able to both control Suh and actually help him get past his dirty ways.

If the Colts want any chance of making noise in the AFC next season, they have to invest heavily in Suh. He’ll bring immense talent and potential to an otherwise struggling defense and will add a certain amount of grit and aggression that the team has been lacking in the past.