Should Falcons Sign Ex-Ravens All-Pro DE Terrell Suggs?

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Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens.

37-year-old NFL veteran, Terrell Suggs is still on the loose with hopes to play in the 2020 season and the Atlanta Falcons could benefit greatly by adding his experience to the pass rush.

Adding a veteran that “old” might not seem ideal, but Suggs isn’t just any kind of veteran. Suggs, a Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer would bring a lot of knowledge to Atlanta.

Suggs Could Show the Rookies How It’s Done

The Falcons have brought in an older vet before to show the rookies how it’s done and have been quite successful with it.

In 2016, the Falcons snagged Dwight Freeney for on a smaller deal who helped turn the young defense around. That same year the Falcons made it to the infamous Super Bowl LI where they blew it but still, won a notable NFC championship win.

The then, 36-year-old played 18 out of 19 games and had two starts. He played 415 snaps with four sacks.

When Freeney who was a former first-round pick by the Colts in 2002 came to Atlanta, Falcons 24-year-old LB Vic Beasley had a breakout season and owed it all to Freeney’s mentorship.

“He’s meant so much to me,” Beasley said of Freeney in an interview with ESPN. “Bringing him on this team and into this organization has been a great help. He just preaches a work-hard mentality and competes at a high level and the way to prepare yourself each and every week.”

Beasley recorded a career-best of 15.5 sacks.

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Takk McKinley Could Benefit From Suggs Like Beasley

The Falcons came to the conclusion in April that they won’t be picking up defensive end Takk McKinley‘s fifth-year option.

Here’s what the Falcons said in their official statement on their decision:

“We have decided to not move forward with a fifth-year option for Takk and at this time are taking a wait-and-see approach in terms of future contracts. Takk has shown the ability to produce at a high level and we look forward to his production in 2020.’’

McKinley now has to prove himself if he wants to stay in Atlanta and Suggs could act as a personal coach for him.

The 24-year-old so far has recorded 16.5 sacks with a 7.0 career-best in 2018. Suggs has the ability to coach him to rack up even more as Freeney did for Beasley.

Suggs’ Canton Worthy NFL Career

After 16 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Suggs split last season between the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs where he ended the year with a second Super Bowl ring.

With two tackles and one quarterback hit, Suggs contributed to the Chiefs’ 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers and his second Super Bowl win of San Franciso.

After recording 6.5 sacks last season, the seven-time Pro Bowler now ranks 8th all-time with a total of 139.