Suh Long! Farewell! What Do the Lions Do Now?

On Saturday afternoon the news broke that Lions free agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh had reached an agreement in principle with the Miami Dolphins on a record-breaking 6-year, $114 million contract that will guarantee Suh $60 million. While Suh can't officially sign the contract until 4:00pm EST today, it's probably a safe bet another team (like the Lions) won't be able to swoop in and change Suh's mind.

So let's assume Suh is officially no longer a Detroit Lion. It's a huge blow to the Lions defense, which was the 2nd-best defense in the entire NFL in 2014. The Lions basically built their defense around Suh considering his dominance at the DT position, so it leaves a large hole to fill through free agency and the draft.

That said, losing Suh gives the Lions somewhere close to $17 million in cap space they can spend on free agents to fill some holes they have at multiple positions like offensive line, cornerback and, of course, defensive tackle.

So in this post not only will we take a look at which free agents the Lions might go after, we'll be taking a look at why the Lions might consider switching from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense now that Suh leaving. In fact, after the jump that's the first part we're going to tackle.

Where Could Ndamukong Suh Sign?

While the deadline to decide whether or not to place the franchise tag on star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh wasn't until 4:00pm EST, the Detroit Lions announced they had made up their mind and were going to let Suh go untagged. Thus came the conclusion to the first part of the Suh free agency saga and the beginning of the next part. 

Suh is now scheduled to become a free agent on March 10th, should he and the Lions not come to a contract extension between now and then. Should Suh hit the market he'll arguably become the largest defensive free agent since Reggie White left the Philadelphia Eagles for the Green Bay Packers. 

Suh will be looking to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt currently holds that title with the 6-year, $100 million deal he agreed to with Houston back in September, which also came with a staggering $51.8 million signing bonus. As I mentioned in my post about Suh back in January, I predicted Suh would land at least a contract of 6 years, $102 million overall with a $52 million signing bonus. If he actually hits the free market, he'll probably make even more.

I still think the Lions have a real shot at re-signing Suh because they have exclusive negotiating rights with him until Saturday, March 7, when a three-day negotiating period opens for the rest of the league. But it's going to take a big contract to bring him back, which is why I think they're first going to have to let him see what his market is and they try to win him back.

So after the jump let's take a look at where Suh might actually wind up should he leave the Honolulu Blue behind, starting with a peak at the 20 teams that have more cap space than the Lions do. These numbers are each team's estimated cap space according to Over The Cap.

The Detroit Lions and a Man Named Suh

The Detroit Lions concluded their relatively successful 2014 season on a sour note this past Sunday, losing to the Dallas Cowboys 24-20 in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Now they move on to the offseason and it looks to be not only a busy one but possibly their most important one under general manager Martin Mayhew; one rife with questions all along the roster. 

Of those questions, none looms larger than "Should the Lions re-sign Ndamukong Suh?" It's a relatively heated topic considering Suh's history both on and off the field. Honestly, this should be a no-brainer, but because of Suh's checkered history in his time as a Lion, it's not as cut-and-dried as you'd think it would be.

When people think of Suh, these are just a few of the transgressions that stand out in their minds:

- 2010: A $20,000 fine for twisting Cleveland Browns QB Jake Delhomme's helmet around on a sack attempt in a preseason game, and a $15,000 fine for roughing Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler (in what most assuredly was a clean but strong shove on Cutler while he was scrambling)

- 2011: Stomping on Green Bay Packers guard Evan Dietrich-Smith's arm, which garnered both a $165,294 fine and a two-game suspension (the only games Suh has ever missed as a Lion)

- 2012: Kicking Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub in the groin, resulting in a $30,000 fine

- 2013: A low block on Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan during a DeAndre Levy interception return that resulted in a gigantic $100,000 fine.

This season Suh had a clean slate up until he stepped on Packers QB Aaron Rodgers while he laid on the ground, which originally got Suh suspended for the Wild Card game against Dallas but was eventually turned into a simple $70,000 fine on appeal.

It's quite a long rap sheet and I've left a few out. Plus, those are just some of the on-field transgressions that he was actually fined for. He's regarded as a dirty player who hits late, pushes players' heads into the ground, twists players' ankles in scrums, etc. Suh has also had a number of traffic incidents that have resulted in legal fines and even one lawsuit.

Needless to say, it's easy to see why some Lions fans and national pundits believe the Lions shouldn't re-sign Suh. "He's a dirty player," they say. "He's not a team player," they claim. "He only cares about himself," is a popular one.

All those things may be true. But here are some other facts:

- Suh just completed his fifth season in the NFL and he has been named All-Pro first-team in four of those years. Less prestigious but still somewhat noteworthy is that Suh is also a four-time Pro Bowler.

- Suh has amassed 241 tackles, 36 sacks (including a back-to-back pair in Sunday's Wild Card game), 2 forced fumbles and 1 interception. 

- Suh has grown as a position leader, if not necessarily a team leader, having given his fellow defensive linemen reclining seats for the film room in the past, and gifting tubs of popcorn for film room this year along with ugly Christmas sweaters for a group photo just last month.

- And as AOL's Annie Moore points out…

"Suh was named America's most charitable athlete by The Giving Back Fund in 2011. Suh donated $2.6 million to his alma mater, the University of Nebraska, to go towards strength and conditioning programs, as well as set up an endowed fund for the Nebraska College of Engineering -- which Suh graduated from with a degree in construction management. Suh's $2.6 million donation was more than Eli Manning (University of Mississippi) and Tom Brady (the Red Cross) donated, combined. Not to mention his efforts through his own charity programs, including the Ndamukong Suh Family Fund, Camp SUH, the 90 Backpack Program and SUH's Scholar Program."

Those points are usually left out of the conversation when discussing Suh's career as a Detroit Lions.

Now, I'm sure some of you might be asking how any of that pertains to the future and whether the Lions should bring Suh back or not. Fair enough. Let's get to talking about Suh's value on the field and on the bottom line after the jump.

Are the Detroit Lions For Real?

In 2013 the Detroit Lions were 6-3 after the first ten weeks of the season. Things were looking good. Really good actually. Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler were both out for the majority of the remaining season with injuries, while Detroit was in the driver's seat in their quest to win their first NFC North Division title. 

We all know how the rest of the season played out. They absolutely imploded down the stretch, losing every game but one dominant performance against a Rodgers-less Packers team on Thanksgiving, going 1-6 to finish the season 7-9. The kicker of it all? The Packers won the division with an 8-7-1 record. The division was there for the Lions' taking, and they squandered it.

Fast-forward to the present and the 2014 Detroit Lions are preparing for a Wild Card game vs. the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday, having just wrapped up a very successful regular season campaign. Last week Detroit went into their Week 17 matchup with the Green Bay Packers sitting at 11-4 and in first place in the division, but their 30-20 loss to Green Bay gives them a final record of 11-5 and the 6-seed in the NFC bracket.

Despite an excellent 11-5 season that fell just shy of a possible 2-seed and bye week in the playoffs, a number of Lions fans are still skeptical about having any sort of sustained success in the postseason let alone this success carrying over to future seasons.

I personally am not one of those Lions fans who is skeptical about the team's chances in the playoffs. But I understand those that are. We Lions fans have been burned too often and at times this Lions team has been…not good. Because of that, I decided to look at this Lions team and attempt to discern whether or not they're a legitimate playoff team with a bright future or if they're just Lions in sheep's clothing. First we'll take a look at the methods we'll use after the jump.