Depending on which way you want to look at the semantics of the whole thing, the bottom line for the Lions and Ndamukong Suh is they’re not even close to agreeing on a new contract.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen was the first to report that the Lions ‘are not optimistic’ about getting their former first round pick signed to a new contract as he heads into the final year of his deal.
Lions are not optimistic about signing Ndamukong Suh to a new contract. He enters camp counting 22,412,500 against sal cap.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) July 24, 2014
I guess you could say the vibe from Mortensen’s report is either way the Lions and Suh probably won’t get a deal done at all paving the way for the defensive tackle to hit free agency next offseason.
Meanwhile Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press seems to put a different spin on things. Instead of leading Lions fans to believe that there’s really no hope in brining Suh back, the vibe here is that a deal with Suh is unlikely to happen before camp starts in just a few days. This perhaps leaves fans with the belief that something could get done during camp, the preseason or regular season.
Ndamukong Suh 'highly unlikely' to sign an extension before camp opens, don't expect #Lions to negotiate in season http://t.co/QcWocV7H7m
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) July 24, 2014
Like i said earlier this week, new Suh deal not likely to happen this week, still think it could next month.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) July 24, 2014
Either way whatever Suh gets whether it’s with the Lions or some other team via free agency the defensive tackle is going to make a ton of money next year. Currently Suh is scheduled to make $12.5 million this fall, with a $22.4-million salary cap hit. If the Lions don’t come to an agreement with Suh on a new contract they could slap the franchise tag on him for 2015 which would bring his cap hit to an astronomical $26.7 million, something that would be extremely prohibitive for the team in terms of making other moves.
Despite all of that too, and him holding up the negotiation process by firing his agent before the draft Suh says he wants to remain a Lion long-term.
“That’s why I see myself here in Detroit — being one of the cornerstones that gets this organization back to a championship level,” he said. “Like coach (Jim) Caldwell said, we’re not in a rebuilding year. We’re in a year of going to get a championship and that’s why I want to be here.”
With nothing close in place as far as a deal goes, firing his agent and holding his own separate workouts this offseason it’s becoming harder to believe he actually wants to be a Lions long-term… if that was even the case in the first place.
