Getty Head coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns looks on during warmups before the game against the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 18, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Still reeling from a train wreck of a loss Sunday, and just three days shy of a pivotal showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns can use all the help they can get.
Luckily for the Browns, there is a great deal readily available to them in the form of a three-time All Pro defensive lineman who is clamoring for a contract in Cleveland. Unfortunately for Browns fans, the organization continues to appear uninterested in his services.
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh remains a free agent as Week 2 of the NFL season draws to a close. The five-time Pro Bowl selection and recent Super Bowl champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has expressed interest in a handful of teams, including the Minnesota Vikings and the Las Vegas Raiders.
Suh is also actively checking in with Cleveland’s front office to inquire as to a job on the relatively inexperienced and injury-battered defensive line, per Brad Stainbrook of The Orange and Brown Report.
While veteran DT Ndamukong Suh continues to check in with the Cleveland #Browns and other NFL teams, Cleveland has yet to express any interest back in signing Suh at this time, per a league source.
“While veteran DT Ndamukong Suh continues to check in with the Cleveland #Browns and other NFL teams, Cleveland has yet to express any interest back in signing Suh at this time, per a league source,” Stainbrook tweeted on Monday, September 19.
Browns Dealing With Inexperience, Disciplinary Issues at D-Tackle
GettyPerrion Winfrey #97 and Tommy Togiai #93 of the Cleveland Browns celebrate a fumble recovery by Winfrey during a preseason game against the Chicago Bears at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 27, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
That Suh could help the Browns immediately is all but indisputable. The DT, who will enter his 13th professional season in 2022 when he catches on with a team, has missed all of two games over the entirety of his 12-year NFL career.
A dominant force for years with the Detroit Lions, Suh’s arc as a player has reached its back-end decline. Even still, he would bring a nastiness and veteran savvy missing from the Browns’ interior and would probably step into a starting role more or less immediately.
Cleveland is currently starting Taven Bryan and Jordan Elliott in the middle, while the team held out rookie backup Perrion Winfrey from Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets due to repeated punctuality problems.
Beyond those three players, Tommy Togiai is the only other defensive tackle listed on the Browns’ regular 53-man roster. Undrafted rookie Roderick Perry was elevated from the practice squad this week due to Winfrey’s disciplinary issues.
It isn’t that the Browns can’t use Suh — they most definitely can. Instead, the hold up is presumably tied to Suh’s request for a $9 million annual salary, which has been a primary cause for hesitance on the part of all NFL franchises that could use a reliable stopper on defense.
Browns’ Defensive Ends Banged Up Heading Into Short Week
Getty ImagesDefensive end Jadeveon Clowney of the Cleveland Browns.
What’s worse about Cleveland’s situation is that the defensive end position is also struggling, namely due to a string of unfortunate injuries.
Three-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney went down with an ankle issue Sunday and will be unavailable Thursday night against the Steelers. Backup defensive end Chase Winovich will also miss the next game with a hamstring. Second-string edge rusher Stephen Weatherly was lost for the year due to a knee injury he sustained during training camp in early August.
While not an overly-prominent pass rushing threat during the course of his career, Suh has amassed 70.5 sacks from the DT position, including six sacks in each of the previous two seasons.