Bruce Arians retiring shocked the NFL world, and it happened just weeks after Tom Brady announced he was returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay promoted defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to the head coaching position, giving the prominent defensive coordinator a second shot at success as a head coach in the league.
With Bowles at his new position, Ndamukong Suh is asking for his return to the Buccaneers. Bowles certainly had an impact on his career.
Congrats to Todd Bowles on becoming head coach of a great team that still feels one man light on talent 👀
— Ndamukong Suh (@NdamukongSuh) March 31, 2022
Suh was still productive in his 12th season at the age of 34, totaling 27 tackles, six sacks, and 13 quarterback hits while playing all 17 games. Suh still has never missed a game in his career due to injury, playing 191 out of a possible 193 games (missed two games due to suspension in 2011).
Starting 164 consecutive games at defensive tackle, Suh leads all players at his position by 99 games (DaQuan Jones is second at 65 games). His 164 consecutive starts are the most in the league and his 9,853 snaps since 2010 lead all front seven defensive players.
While Suh has been durable, he's also been productive. His 130 tackles for loss since 2010 (Suh's rookie year) are eighth in the NFL while his 70.5 sacks are third in the league amongst defensive tackles. Suh's 212 quarterback hits are fifth in the league since his rookie year (2010).
The Buccaneers need to get younger at defensive tackle, but Suh has proven he hasn't experienced a major drop off. Suh isn't the dominant force he once was, yet he's still reliable.
