Should The Browns Have Interest In Ndamukong Suh?

With about a month to go before the start of training camp, there are still a couple of interesting free agents who are yet to be signed.

One of them is Ndamukong Suh, a veteran defensive lineman who spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On Monday, it was reported that the 35-year-old wants to continue playing in the league, but that he likely won’t remain with Tom Brady and company.

And @NdamukongSuh on ESPN2’s NFL Live, on where he might be in the future: “It looks like the Bucs are out of the picture.”

But Suh did say he would like to continue playing.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 20, 2022

Suh still seems to have something left in the tank, and his experience of winning a Super Bowl title in the 2020 season may make him a somewhat valuable addition to another team.

Would it be wise for the Cleveland Browns to make a run at Suh?

Suh Could Provide Help For A Young Team

The Browns ranked 13^th in the NFL last year in points allowed, and although the team has some bright spots and players defensively, it could still stand to improve on that end of the football.

Cleveland’s front seven features a star in Myles Garrett, a valuable contributor in Jadeveon Clowney and a blue-chipper in linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

But the team’s incumbent defensive tackles aren’t perhaps the best in the world.

Suh, despite being up there in age, recorded 6.0 sacks, seven tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits last season for the Bucs.

With the sheer number of good and great QBs throughout the AFC, not to mention the star wide receivers who are now in the conference, such as Davante Adams, it wouldn’t hurt for the Browns to beef up on the pressure they can put on opposing signal-callers.

Plus, when one considers the fact that Cleveland will likely be without Deshaun Watson for some or even all of this upcoming season, defense will be even more integral to its playoff hopes.

The team may simply have to win ugly for a while if and when Watson is suspended, and Suh could certainly help with that.

The One Problem With Suh

Although Suh has been a standout lineman for about a decade now, he has plenty of critics.

He is a very aggressive player, and many have accused him of crossing the line into being a dirty player, as he has been called for plenty of personal fouls, especially early in his career.

In fact, Suh was once named the NFL’s “Least-Liked Player.”

Ndamukong Suh:

Facemasked Jake Delhomme
Kicked Matt Schaub in the groin
Stomped on Andre Gurode
Dirty block on John Sullivan
Fined for Brandon Weeden hit
Stepped on Aaron Rodgers
Choked Ryan Mallett
Sleeper-holds Pat Mahomes

His dirtiness is undefeated https://t.co/4NpmPaVKvy

— rick strom (@RickStrom) November 20, 2018

Some would say the Browns already have a culture and optics problem, between Watson’s misconduct allegations, Baker Mayfield’s mercurial nature and Garrett’s helmet incident.

If the Browns want to truly build a winning culture that will continue to attract more players who will be pieces to what they hope will be a championship puzzle, they need to make sure they build a positive culture.

The concern is that signing Suh would simply reinforce to the Browns’ critics that they are a “poverty franchise” that lacks class.

If the Haslam family wants to solidify the teams fanbase, they would be wise to avoid bringing in any more polarizing players.