Caldwell Says Re-Signing Suh Still One Of Top Priorities For Lions
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell confirmed Monday that the franchise's focus on re-signing star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has not waned.
"That will continue to be one of our highest priorities," Caldwell said. "That's going to be addressed constantly here until we come to some conclusion."
Suh, now a free agent, has made the Pro Bowl in four of his five seasons, establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the game.
"He's a dominant, dominant player who we benefit from - greatly - from having his services," Caldwell said. "He's a tremendous asset to our team, and I'll leave it at that. He's quite a player."
While Suh turned in an excellent season, his teammates on the defensive line also thrived, in part due to Suh drawing constant attention. Several of Suh's fellow linemen - including Nick Fairley and C.J. Mosley - are also free agents.
"The group as a whole - I think your entire team, often times - I think you enter the offseason saying, 'We'd like to have all these guys back,'" Caldwell said, "but the salary cap won't allow you to do so. It's just not realistic. You have to make adjustments, make assessments, and that's what we'll be in the process of doing, but we won't make those assessments today. It's an ongoing process that will take us a while to get through."
One of several key players who did not make themselves available in the locker room Monday, Suh has avoided questions about his free agency all season. When Suh spoke at the podium Sunday after the Lions lost to the Dallas Cowboys, however, he was crying, so emotional he left momentarily to compose himself.
To say the least, Suh hardly looked like a man with one foot out the door, ready to depart Detroit as soon as possible. Many players have spoken of unique chemistry on the team and particularly on the defensive line, and Suh has been part of that.
"They'll be back," safety Glover Quin said with a grin, apparently referring to Suh and Fairley but declining to name them outright.
Quin jokingly said he has been working to keep the defensive linemen in Detroit.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've been recruiting them since - all year," Quin said. "I went and talked to them, I told them that we could work some things out, as long as he would just make it up on the back end, we'd be all good."
In seriousness, Quin was not quite so optimistic.
"I don't know," Quin said, his smile fading. "That's not my decision. I would love for them to be back. I hope they would be back, but I have no control over that. We'll see what happens."
