Ndamukong Suh expected to be at OTAs
Detroit Lions star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh did not attend voluntary offseason workouts before the draft, which surprised absolutely nobody since he rarely ever attends voluntary workouts. Although it’s always preferable for someone to work out with the team, it’s obviously “voluntary”, and the only reason why it became a story is because Suh was placed in some trade rumors due to his large salary that still hasn’t been reworked yet. While that’s a concern for the Lions financially, the fact of the matter is that the Lions aren’t looking to trade the uber-talented defensive lineman anytime soon, and the Lions aren’t overly concerned about his participation this offseason either.
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Per the Detroit Free Press’s Dave Birkett, Lions head coach Jim Caldwell stated that he expects Suh to participate in OTAs this week, and he also called Suh a “great” leader despite the DT’s absences from offseason workouts to this point. Caldwell’s statements should extinguish any fire directed at Suh, and they affirm that nothing is out of the ordinary.
Suh’s 5.5 sacks last season seem lower than normal on paper, but they definitely aren’t indicative of a decline in play. More disciplined against the run (and overall) last season, Suh was his usual, elite self as a pass rusher by consistently applying pressure on the quarterback. The Lions defensive line will continue to be a dominant unit next season, and everybody- especially the Lions organization- knows that Suh is the lynchpin of that group. Hopefully he does show up at OTAs, because it’s always good for those guys to get more reps with each other and all that good stuff.