The Baltimore Ravens have been linked with a new contract offer for longtime Raven Terrell Suggs.
The man known affectionately as T-Sizzle, Suggs will look to return to the Ravens for his 17th season wearing the purple and gold. A former defensive player of the year, while limited in recent years, Suggs has still been a moderately productive member of the Ravens defense for his nearly two decades of NFL action.
While he is not as feared on the field as he once was, Suggs is a terrific presence in the locker room for a young Baltimore roster. With Suggs still on the Ravens, the Ravens will still possess the defensive intensity and strive for defensive superiority under new general manager Eric DeCosta.
With the likely return of Suggs, the Ravens stabilize the edge rusher roster position, but will certainly look to further add to the front seven in the draft and free agency.
With Suggs looking to return, the Ravens must shift the focus to bringing back Pro Bowl linebacker C.J. Mosley and electric pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. Mosley and Smith were key in the Ravens’ defensive excellence throughout the season as Mosley spearheaded the linebacking corps and Smith came up clutch with sacks and a variety of big momentum-changing plays throughout the season as he picked up eight-and-a-half sacks.
With the storied history of the Ravens’ defense, Baltimore will focus on re-signing players from the 2018 season and solidifying any holes on defense. While the Ravens do not have the kind of cap space as the New York Jets or Indianapolis Colts have, they should be able to re-sign the majority of their key players from 2018. With casualties such as Michael Crabtree early in the off-season, it is up to Decosta to make critical decisions in the direction of the Ravens both offensively and defensively.
Moving forward, Suggs will continue to play a role as a limited pass rusher. Similar to the role that James Harrison played for the Steelers in the early 2010s, Suggs will be relied on to make a small dose of huge plays for the Ravens in each game.
While Suggs may not have the ability to be on the field for the majority of the snaps, his intensity on individual snaps will be an effective way for the Ravens to make game-changing players on defense and return the ball to the offense. Suggs, who has been responsible for a trio of defensive touchdowns in his career, will look to replicate his flair for the dramatic in January 2020.
Suggs will almost certainly be the first of many critical re-signings for the Ravens as they look to continue the stellar defense from the 2018 season.
The Ravens ranked near the top in many defensive categories including points allowed and yards allowed, a feat they will continue to achieve.
While the Ravens forced relatively few turnovers for a high-level defense, the return of Suggs and other key players will certainly boost the play-making abilities of the defensive front seven.
Current rumors detail that Suggs’s contract would be in the two-year range. With Suggs potentially returning for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, the Ravens will maintain continuity on defense while the offense is in transition under Lamar Jackson.
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