Shopping season begins this coming Tuesday in the NFL with this year’s player equivalent to the Playstation 4 being Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. Everyone probably wants a player to his caliber but not every team in the NFL either has the money or the need to take on what he’ll command once free agency gets underway.
One of those teams with the money to spend and the need for arguably the most dominant defensive tackle in the League is the Miami Dolphins who according to the Miami Herald remain ‘confident’ they’ll be able to land Suh this offseason.
The numbers the Herald is throwing around too for Miami aren’t cheap which isn’t a surprise. Right now it’s looking like the Dolphins will present a $102M contract Suh’s way which will break down like this:
- Average $17M per season
- $30-32M in guaranteed money
- An additional $20-$25M in guaranteed money
- Suh is also believed to want a good chunk of that $102M contract during the first three years.
Included in all of this Suh reportedly wants to be the highest paid player in the NFL which is apparently negotiable. However what isn’t negotiable is Suh wanting to definitely be the highest paid non-QB in the League meaning he’s looking to surpass J.J. Watt who A) plays a more vital position on the defense and B) is more versatile.
Via the Miami Herald:
“He’s obviously a dominant player,” former Detroit teammate Jason Fox said Thursday after re-signing with the Dolphins. “He’s one of the best defensive tackles, if not the best defensive tackle in the whole NFL. He’s a game-changing type of player. In the locker room, he’s not the ‘rah-rah’ guy and he speaks up when he feels like it’s necessary. He’s one of the guys that leads by example. He’s a hard-worker and obviously that shows.”
Among the teams the Herald cites as being interested in Suh (in addition to the Dolphins) are Jacksonville, Oakland, Indianapolis and possibly Tennessee with his current team Detroit being a ‘remote possibility’. It may also be important to note that the Herald believes Jacksonville to be Miami’s biggest competition given Florida’s no state tax.
h/t: Miami Herald