Less than 24 hours after dumping Gerald McCoy, the Buccaneers found his replacement.
On Tuesday, Tampa Bay has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Ndamukong Suh, who was arguably the biggest name left in the NFL free agency pool, per ESPN. The Buccaneers announced the signing on Thursday, and Adam Schefter reported on the details of the deal:
Buccaneers officially have reached agreement with former Rams’ DT Ndamukong Suh on a one-year, $9.25 million deal that with incentives is worth up to $10 million, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 23, 2019
Suh was in Boston over the weekend, which had Patriots fans hoping that he was going to sign with New England, but he has now made his decision and will be heading to Tampa after one year with the Rams.
Suh is in Boston. My understanding is it has nothing to do with the #Patriots. pic.twitter.com/K82f0ZH2Yh
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) May 20, 2019
Despite the report that Suh to Tampa is a done deal, Bucs coach Bruce Arians wasn't ready to confirm anything just yet on Tuesday:
Arians wouldn't address reports that the #Bucs are interested in Ndamukong Suh. "I can’t talk about him. He’s not on my team,'' Arians said. When reminded Suh is a free agent, he said, "He’s a hell of a player so we’ll see.''
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) May 21, 2019
For the Bucs, this signing makes a lot of sense, and that's because they absolutely had to make some kind of move after releasing McCoy, which left a gaping hole on their defensive line. The team was basically forced to release the six-time Pro Bowler for salary cap reasons. McCoy was scheduled to count $13 million against the salary cap in 2019.
As for Suh, although he appeared to mail it in at times during his time with the Rams last year, he was still pretty dominant, especially in the playoffs. During the NFC title game, Suh proved that he can still play at a high level, as a matter of fact, Suh had as many sacks in that game against the Saints (1.5) as he did in the Rams' final 11 regular-season games combined.
Suh also seems to be somehow getting better as he gets older. At age 32, Suh had the second most productive season of his career last year while playing with the Rams, according to Pro Football Focus. The veteran defensive tackle has also impressively graded out with a score of 80 or higher by PFF in each of the past four seasons.
New Buccaneers DI Ndamukong Suh has put forth four consecutive seasons of 80.0+ grades including the second-highest grade of his career last season with the Rams. https://t.co/kYFteDrSRW
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) May 21, 2019
Although Tampa might seem like an odd choice for Suh, it turns out there are multiple reasons why the defensive tackle wanted to play there. According to ESPN.com, Suh wanted the chance to play for new Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. The money-savvy Suh also liked that Florida has no state tax.
Suh must really like the tax break, because this will be the second time he's signed with a team in Florida. From 2015 to 2017, Suh played for the Dolphins. Before that, he spent the first five years of his career in Detroit after the Lions made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Coincidentally, in Tampa Suh will be replacing the guy (McCoy) who was the No. 3 overall pick in the same draft.
