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Terrell Suggs

North Notes: Beachum, Browns, Suggs

September 20th, 2015 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Parks

One of the more important contract situations that has not received a great deal of media attention is that of Steelers left tackle Kelvin Beachum. The former seventh-round selection from SMU started all 16 games for Pittsburgh last season and graded out as the fifth-best tackle in the league, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). Beachum was particularly effective at pass-blocking, and it is no coincidence that Ben Roethlisberger and his arsenal of explosive weapons enjoyed an immensely successful 2014 campaign.

However, as Mark Kaboly of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes, the deadline for the Steelers and Beachum to come to a contract extension came and went last week, which means that Beachum will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in March. Beachum presents an interesting case, as he is the smallest starting left tackle in the league, but he has proven that he can be at least a capable starter, which is something that the Steelers have been seeking for a long time. Beachum understandably wants to be paid like one of the elite left tackles in the league, which would garner him a contract worth between $8MM and $13MM per year, but as Kaboly writes, “with the Steelers tight against the cap and Lawrence Timmons, Le’Veon Bell, Heath Miller and David DeCastro up for extensions next year, the Steelers simply can’t afford to pay Beachum market price.”

Now let’s take a look at some more links from the league’s north divisions:

  • Although Johnny Manziel is getting the chance to start for the Browns today, Josh McCown will reclaim the job when healthy, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com (citing NFL.com colleague Ian Rapoport). Cleveland brass is pleased with the progress Manziel has made thus far, but the Browns continue to believe that McCown, who won the job in training camp, represents the best chance for them to win.
  • Former NFL agent Joel Corry took a bit of a dig at the Browns this morning, tweeting that Cleveland appears to be a prime candidate to overpay for Bears WR Alshon Jeffery in free agency next offseason if Chicago does not put the franchise tag on Jeffery.
  • Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that Ravens LB Terrell Suggs, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL in the team’s Week 1 loss to Denver, is not even considering retirement. Suggs will begin rehabbing his injury shortly and fully intends to play in 2016.
  • Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune examines recent comments made by Cardinals GM Steve Keim regarding how he was able to effect such a quick turnaround in Arizona–specifically Keim’s belief in building through the draft and using free agency for short-term relief–and wonders if it is a model the Bears can realistically follow.

 

Terrell Suggs Tears Achilles, Out For Year

September 13th, 2015 at 6:48pm CST by Ben Levine

Terrell Suggs was carted off the field during the Ravens loss to the Broncos this evening, and the team announced (via Twitter) that the veteran linebacker has torn his left Achilles and will miss the rest of the season.

The former first-round pick has played his entire career in Baltimore, making six Pro Bowls and winning the defensive player of the year award. The 32-year-old has only missed 11 games during his 12-year career, including eight in 2012 when he tore his right Achilles.

Suggs finished last season with 69 tackles and 12 sacks, the second-highest total of his career. Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) rated him as the second-most valuable defender last season for the Ravens, and he also ranked as the league’s second-best 3-4 outside linebacker.

Tom Pelissero of USA Today notes (via Twitter) that it took Suggs about five months to recover the last time he suffered a torn Achilles. If Suggs follows that same timeline, he’d be ready by mid-February.

Terrell Suggs, Ravens Rework Contract

March 10th, 2015 at 7:45am CST by Luke Adams

Terrell Suggs is converting $3MM of his $4MM base salary for 2015 into a signing bonus, freeing up some 2015 cap room for the Ravens, a source confirms to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk first reported (via Twitter) that the two sides were working on restructuring Suggs’ deal.

With four years remaining on his deal, Suggs’ new $3MM signing bonus will count for just $750K on each season, creating $2.25MM in cap savings for 2015. It was a logical move for Baltimore since the veteran’s base salary for the coming season was already fully guaranteed, so the team would be paying that $4MM sooner or later. Suggs’ cap hit will be reduced from $6.2MM to just below $4MM in the move, while his cap numbers for 2016 through 2018 each increase by $750K.

After agreeing to a restructure with Suggs, the Ravens are also continuing to explore the possibility of working out a similar arrangement with Haloti Ngata, says Wilson (via Twitter). However, Ngata doesn’t seem to be in any danger of being cut, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the defensive lineman’s contract will likely go unchanged. Ngata likely isn’t enthused about the idea of taking a pay cut, and any other form of restructure would have to involve the team extending his deal beyond 2015.

Ozzie Newsome Reflects On Ravens Offseason

June 27th, 2014 at 12:48pm CST by Ben Levine

Most team executives feel pretty good about themselves following an eventful offseason, and Raven general manager Ozzie Newsome is certainly included in that bunch. The Hall of Fame tight end talked to Kevin Byrne, the team’s Senior Vice President of Public and Community Relations, about some of his transactions. Here are a few of the notable tidbits…

His assessment of the current roster and where it’s most improved:

“We feel pretty good right now. We could tweak the roster a little between now and the start of the regular season, but, overall, we accomplished a lot since the end of last season.

We’ll be better on offense. I really like Gary (Kubiak’s) schemes. It’s very precise. It’s physical. I think we’ll run the ball better, we’ll keep the ball more and we’ll have big plays. You can tell the players, especially guys like Joe (Flacco), like it – and they can see that we have a good chance to be a lot better.”

On the contract extension for linebacker Terrell Suggs and the status of Haloti Ngata‘s contract talks:

“We wanted two things from these contracts. The first is to create some cap room and the other is to try and make sure these two players remained Ravens forever. We got ‘Sizzle’ done and we’re still hopeful with Haloti.”

On losing cornerback Corey Graham and defensive end Arthur Jones:

“We lost Corey when we thought we could get him, but (the Bills) paid a premium. We knew we couldn’t sign Arthur Jones. He earned a huge salary and the Colts gave it to him. We couldn’t go there and sign other players we needed. The $10 million increase in the salary cap helped us get the others done.”

Thoughts on team’s additions at wide receiver and offensive line:

“We landed Steve Smith, who is not your typical aging player. He’s a special competitor, driven to show everyone he can play at a high level. You saw him during the camps. He’s going to help.

“Getting Jeremy Zuttah was a bonus. He wasn’t on the front burner at the beginning of the offseason. But, like Steve Smith, he was on a list we’ve developed of guys who are late in their contracts and might be available. We asked the question and they (the Buccaneers) were willing to move him. He’s a good player.”

Free Agency Notes: Pitta, Maclin, Cooper

February 22nd, 2014 at 7:47pm CST by Peter Sowards

Taking care of free agent tight end Dennis Pitta is the top priority for the Ravens, according to Bo Smolka of CSN Baltimore.

With the contract extension for linebacker/defensive end Terrell Suggs in the books, GM Ozzie Newsome said at his Scouting Combine news conference that Baltimore is “concentrating” on locking up the fourth-year BYU player for the foreseeable future.

Smolka notes that Baltimore has until March 3 to apply the franchise tag on Pitta, and they can expect a fight if they do so — Pitta lined up as an in-line tight end less than 25% of the time and will argue he deserves the $11.6MM wide receiver designation, as opposed to the $6.8MM tight end figure.

We talked yesterday about Ravens coach John Harbaugh being optimistic that the team can retain Pitta, as well as offensive tackle Eugene Monroe. Newsome is arguably the finest general manager in the league, so don’t bet against the possibility of him bringing back both players at team-friendly prices.

Some other free agent notes to pass along, in particular dealing with Philadelphia…

  • The Eagles are prioritizing Jeremy Maclin over Riley Cooper, NFL sources have told Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • In a perfect world, McClane says Philadelphia would sign Maclin to a one-year deal, then try to sign another receiver with starting ability.
  • In his Thursday interview at the NFL Combine, GM Howie Roseman said it would be a tough sell to keep both players. “You can only put a limited amount of resources into the position before it starts taking out from other places,” he said.
  • This previous PFR post takes an in-depth look at the two receivers with the help of Pro Football Focus.

Details On Terrell Suggs Contract Extension

February 17th, 2014 at 10:53am CST by Rob DiRe

Details of the Terrell Suggs contract extension are beginning to be made public. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter), the deal will run through 2018, and will reduce Suggs’ 2014 cap number from $12.4MM to $7.8MM. Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports that the extension would be worth roughly $28MM over the course of five years (via Twitter).

The deal includes $16MM in guaranteed money, which La Canfora notes is more than Dwight Freeney or John Abraham received on their new contracts last offseason (via Twitter).

La Canfora calls the deal a “win-win,” with the Ravens gaining short term cap flexibility and the 31-year-old pass rusher securing a long term deal with guaranteed money.

 

Ravens, Terrell Suggs Agree To Extension

February 16th, 2014 at 8:24pm CST by David Kipke

The Ravens have agreed to a contract extension with All-Pro linebacker Terrell Suggs, according to Ravens Insider Aaron Wilson (via Twitter). Wilson also reports (via Twitter) that Suggs will formally sign his restructured contract tomorrow. ProFootballTalk describes the negotiations as being sufficiently close that Suggs is currently in the air from Arizona to Baltimore.

Suggs, the 2011 NFL defensive player of the year, was set to cost the Ravens $12.4MM in 2014 in the final year of a six-year contract that he signed in 2009. Suggs’ deal will almost undoubtedly feature a reduced 2014 cap figure. An emerging number of front offices have been restructuring large contracts in order to shore up short-term cap space. This tactic was evident with Tom Brady‘s contract restructuring in March, 2012.

Details are still emerging regarding the length and value of the contract.

 

AFC North Notes: Suggs, Bengals, Browns

February 15th, 2014 at 8:12pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Raven’s top priority this offseason must be coming to an agreement of a contract extension with Pro Bowl pass rusher Terrell Suggs, writes Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun. Suggs has one year left on his deal, for $12.4MM. Preston writes that the Ravens could save more than $5MM if they agree to an extension, which would give them about $17 to $18 million in cap space to work with in free agency. That would help them re-sign tight end Dennis Pitta, who they are considering using the franchise tag on if a long-term deal cannot be reached, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. Citing an NFL source, Preston indicates that Suggs and the Ravens are making progress towards a reworked contract. Here are some other notes from around the AFC North:

  • The Ravens are expected to sign another quarterback sometime during free agency, according to Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com. The quarterback would compete with Tyrod Taylor to be Joe Flacco‘s backup in 2014. Smolka is confident that Taylor will be able to beat out whoever the team brings in once again, and does not think the Ravens will carry three quarterbacks during the season.
  • The two top free agents the Bengals will look to re-sign are defensive end Michael Johnson and left tackle Anthony Collins, according to Hobson. If they cannot bring back Collins, that will most likely mean they will move Andrew Whitworth back to left tackle in 2014.
  • The Browns are widely thought to be looking for a quarterback with their first pick, but Pat McManamon of ESPN.com would rather see the team target receiver Sammy Watkins of Clemson. Pairing the young receiver with Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron would set the basis for an offense to succeed.
  • McManamon believes that the Browns will be unable to retain center Alex Mack in free agency. Hobson agrees that Mack will move on if not franchised. Hobson also writes that the team will move on from two free agent guards, starter Shawn Lauvao and backup Oniel Cousins.

Extra Points: Incognito, Gross, Suggs, Pats

February 7th, 2014 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Executives and players who spoke to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report expressed confidence that Richie Incognito would continue to find NFL work going forward, but weren’t as certain about Jonathan Martin’s future. Lingering questions about Martin’s trustworthiness and mental health make him a bigger question mark around the league than Incognito, whose off-field question marks are at least more familiar for NFL teams.

“He’s not a good guy, but we’re not a league of good guys,” one GM said of Incognito. “There are some bad guys in football, but it’s football, not the Salvation Army. He can play, if the commissioner allows it, he’ll get another job.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Several contracts around the league voided today, adding more players to the 2014 free agent list, as expected. In a series of tweets, Joel Corry and Brian McIntryre listed a few of the notable players whose deals voided, including Brian Orakpo, Brandon Meriweather, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, B.J. Raji, and Corey Webster.
  • Another player whose deal was set to void today was Panthers offensive lineman Jordan Gross, who remains undecided on whether or not he’ll continue his career, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. As Corry notes (via Twitter), voiding Gross’ contract would result in $5.6MM of dead money on Carolina’s cap, so the team probably would’ve liked to push that deadline into March, if possible. It’s not clear yet whether the club managed to do anything like that though.
  • The latest piece from Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report is chock full of interesting tidbits, including word that the Ravens still believe Terrell Suggs is a valuable asset, meaning the team is more likely to try to restructure his deal than to release him. Pompei also notes that many NFL team execs are happy this year’s draft was pushed back, since they’ll need that extra time to evaluate the record number of underclassmen among 2014’s class.
  • While Michael Bennett, Anthony Spencer, and Jason Worilds are among the intriguing pass-rushing options in this year’s free agent class, Orakpo and Greg Hardy make up the top tier, writes Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com.
  • A day after looking at the Seahawks’ future, Joel Corry of The National Football Post turns his attention to what’s next for the Broncos.
  • Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com provides a brief snapshot of every position on the Patriots’ offense, assessing whether or not the team will address each spot in free agency or the draft.