The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl title defense starts now.
The checklist in front of general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians is long and daunting. From potential free agents, to incoming free agents, to the draft and all with a limited and still shrinking salary cap.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated had a chance to sit down with one Buccaneer free agent, Ndamukong Suh. As Breer states in his MMQB article, one potential free agent definitely wants to stay with the team. That free agent is Suh.
Breer states that Suh was “crystal clear” in his intent to return to the Buccaneers for a title defense.
“My goal is to come back and have an opportunity to go win another championship. Me and Tom [Brady] spoke the other day about that opportunity, as well as with Jason Licht. I don’t know if you saw our parade celebration on that podium, Coach B.A. [Bruce Arians] said I’m not going anywhere. And he’s usually a man of his word. So I look forward to the opportunity to continue to play, especially for Tampa. And I honestly believe I have a lot of elite, great talent left in me to play. I’m not ready to hang them up yet. And my wife has given me the O.K.—that’s first and foremost, I got that permission.”
Suh went on to say, “Along with being able to still have that energy, that fire to go out there, I think the biggest thing that pushed me throughout this season was knowing I have twins on the way. Being able to have them come into this world as champions, but then also me play a couple years, maybe five, who knows? That they get to see me on the football field and experience that at a certain age, obviously they’re going to be super young, going back this year. But just for them to be able to experience and be around that environment [would be great].”
Translation, Suh wants to continue his playing career, and wants to do it with the Buccaneers. There are a lot of items on that offseason checklist for Licht and Arians to address. Signing Suh should be one that’s checked off of that list sooner than later.
