‘I’m Excited for Detroit:’ Ndamukong Suh Fired up for Dan Campbell Era

The Detroit Lions have been making big move after big move this offseason, and the entire NFL has been witness to what the team has done. As a result, there are some strong takes on what’s been playing out.

An interesting party sitting back and watching was Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. Interestingly enough, Suh has some thoughts on what has transpired with the Lions in terms of Dan Campbell as well as the Matthew Stafford move and Jared Goff coming into the mix.

Speaking before the Super Bowl to reporters including Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Suh was asked about some of the big moves in Detroit. As he said, he wanted to connect with Goff, his former quarterback, to help acclimate him to Detroit.

In terms of Campbell, Suh said he is a fiery guy who can bring the team success providing everybody buys in and does what they are asked to do. He also admitted he’s excited for the Lions to be able to get a guy in the mix like Campbell, and to see what they can do with Goff as quarterback.

Suh said in the piece:

“You can see that fire in him, as you saw in his press conference, so I’m excited for Detroit to have a guy like that and I think he’s going to be able to have an opportunity to bring some success and guys just got to hone in and understand what they need to accomplish. He just got a great quarterback in Jared Goff, who I was in the Super Bowl with two years ago. So I’m excited to see what they’re going to be able to do up there in Detroit.”

Suh was a fan-favorite in Detroit, but when he departed, many believed he was looking for an easy way out of the city. He maintained his distance and silence for a while, but it’s clear as he’s aged, Suh has some fond memories from his time with the city and now has some old friends coming into the mix there.

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Ndamukong Suh Vocal About Lions Recently

Suh’s change of tune regarding the Lions is certainly interesting. In the last few months, he’s had a lot to say about the team. A few months ago, Suh opened up on a past era of Detroit football. Once a beloved former member of the team in Detroit, Suh responded to a thread by former teammate Lawrence Jackson on Twitter. As he said, he believed Jim Schwartz was a good coach, and Jim Caldwell was the answer, but he wasn’t given enough resources by the team in order to be successful during his tenure, nor was he given enough time.

Suh opening up on Twitter about his time in Detroit is very interesting considering he hasn’t said much about the Lions since he departed after the 2014 season in free agency and typically doesn’t open up much on social media. The Lions elected not to pay him and he seemed set on taking his talents to the Miami Dolphins where he cashed in on a huge contract. Arguably, Suh wasn’t the same dominating player he always was with the Lions after he left, even though he continued to put up stats and pile up accolades elsewhere.

When he started his career in Detroit, Suh played under Schwartz and then briefly Caldwell. This take came as plenty of former Lions were comparing the Caldwell and Matt Patricia eras following some unrest during the Patricia regime. Since that comment was made, there’s been some big changes for the team.

Obviously, Suh is still paying attention from afar, which is interesting to note in this scenario.

Could Ndamukong Suh Return to Lions?

Suh has been playing on short-term deals for the last few seasons, and while he’s reached the Super Bowl a few times, he hasn’t broken through to win the game just yet. If that changes this season, it would be interesting to see if Suh would decide upon a return to Detroit. The Lions’ defensive line is thin in the trenches, and they could use some veteran leadership like Suh would provide them. Suh will be a free agent this coming offseason, and while his numbers have gone down, he did have 43 tackles and 6 sacks this past year.

It’s clear that Suh knows Campbell and might know about Brad Holmes from his time in Los Angeles, too. Only time will tell if this is the case.

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