While Tom Brady is the free agent signing everybody wants to talk about, and rightfully so, the Buccaneers made a number of other big moves that have them looking formidable entering the 2020 season, like the tagging of NFL sack leader Shaq Barrett and the two-year deal they struck with Jason Pierre-Paul.
Not to be overlooked, though, is the re-signing of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. The number two pick in the 2010 draft came to the Bucs last offseason to replace Gerald McCoy, and helped turn the Bucs’ rush defense into the league’s best.
At the age of 33, Ndamukong Suh is still among the most effective interior pass rushers in the NFL.
Despite finishing with a career-low 2.5 sacks in 2019, Suh still generated 43 pressures, T-3rd-most among DT. Expect Suh's sacks to pressure ratio to regress to the mean in 2020. https://t.co/DcXk8FMk1a pic.twitter.com/3Ak5a9AYfK
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 25, 2020
While Ian Rapoport’s tweet above indicates Suh wanted to return to play for Todd Bowles, Peter King of NBC Sports believes Suh’s return to Tampa was sparked by another reason.
Per King:
“I think the first signing that illustrates how much a player wanted to play with Tom Brady was Ndamukong Suh’s one-year, $8-million deal with the Bucs. One team talking with Suh believes playing with Brady was the tipping point in Tampa Bay’s favor.”
Suh is still after that elusive Super Bowl title, having come up short in Super Bowl LIII when his Los Angeles Rams fell to, you guessed it, Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.
If you can’t beat them, join them.
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