The Baltimore Ravens dropped another bomb. Beloved outside linebacker Terrell “T-Sizzle” Suggs is set to sign a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
Suggs informed the Baltimore Ravens on Monday that he would be taking his talents to Arizona. It was always believed that he would retire a Raven, and both sides made it clear that they wanted to continue their relationship. Thus far, he has played his entire career with one team; now he hit the free agent market for the first time since 2003.
Suggs is signing a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals, which can be made official anytime now that the new league year is underway.
Not enough good things can be said about the 16-year veteran. He loved to terrorize quarterbacks; he was good at it. When Suggs was on the field, quarterbacks had under two seconds before they would be pummeled.
Suggs is the all-time Ravens sack leader with 132.5 career sacks and is tied with Lawrence Taylor and Leslie O’Neil for 13th-most sacks in NFL history.
Suggs has a way of propelling past the offense along the outside to snag his prey. He was his position: a fierce pass rushing machine.
Suggs was the 10th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and made an immediate impact. He teamed up with Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, and along with linebackers Peter Boulware and Edgerton Hartwell, the already-legendary defense became even more powerful.
That year, Lewis was a recipient of the NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year Award, NFL Defensive Player of the Month Award for November and AFC Defensive Player of the Week Award in Week 17. He quickly became the outspoken leader. Suggs would not be outdone. In his rookie year, he had 12 sacks, which was a franchise rookie record along with one interception and six forced fumbles. He was awarded Defensive Rookie of the Year for his efforts.
Suggs picked up speed over the years and, in 2011, won the Defensive Player of the Year award. With three sacks on Ben Roethlisberger in Week 1, he was declared the Sack King, surpassing Peter Boulware’s record of 70 sacks as a Baltimore Raven.
After 17 years and his second Super Bowl, Lewis retired in 2013. Suggs received a new teammate when the Ravens signed defensive end Elvis Dumervil, formerly of the Denver Broncos. A convenient coincidence for Baltimore, Dumervil’s agent faxed his contract six minutes too late and the Broncos had no choice but to let him walk. The Ravens picked him up, signing him to a five-year, $35 million contract.
In 2014, Dumervil and Suggs became the most dangerous defensive tag-team in the NFL, better known as “Sizzle and Doom.” The two had a combined 29 sacks on the season.
Suggs did not get the huge contract that C.J. Mosley or Za’Darius Smith received. He will sign a one-year deal worth $7 million with the Cardinals.
Social media buzz is speculating that Suggs just wanted to go home. He grew up in Arizona, played high school football there, and attended Arizona State University.
Who Will Take His Place in Baltimore?
Looking within the team, the Ravens have Tyus Bowser, Matthew Judon, and Tim Williams on the roster as possible replacements.
Bowser is a three-year veteran that will have a chance to step up as an edge rusher. He signed with the Ravens in 2017 and Sports Illustrated ranked him as the 12th best edge rusher. However, he has been far from that with his inconsistency, recording only 22 combined tackles and 3.5 sacks in two seasons.
Judon throws himself at the offense to reach his target. He recorded seven sacks, three passes defended and one forced fumble in eight starts last season. He could look to improve those numbers, seeing more snaps with Suggs gone.
Williams has not really been a consistent playmaker on the field. He signed with the team in 2014 and missed four games due to a thigh injury. In two seasons, he has only played 15 games, recording 16 combined tackles and two sacks.
New general manager Eric DeCosta has his hands full for the upcoming season. Looking toward the draft and wanting to build around quarterback Lamar Jackson, the team needs to build on both offense and defense.
Suggs can now look toward training camp, where he can be a leader on a struggling football team.
