The Detroit Lions had to know that they were taking an awful risk when they decided not to place the franchise tag on star defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. He is on the short list for best defensive player in the NFL not named J.J. Watt, and he is unquestionably the engine that has driven Detroit's defense in recent years.
But his franchise tag cost was prohibitive, and now he will hit the open market. With each passing day, it looks less likely that he will return to Detroit, as new suitors are cropping up seemingly every few hours. Suh will have his work cut out for him to sort through the many offers, and a former free agent bust had some advice for Suh on what factors to consider, according to USA Today.
Albert Haynesworth has to be considered one of the biggest free agency busts of the last decade, if not of all time. He signed a $100 million contract with Washington, showed up to camp way out of shape, and never even came close to living up to his deal. He was eventually suspended, traded, released, and then retired at 30.
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Still, he apparently feels qualified to advise Suh, and he had some notes on factors that the former Lions star should consider beyond money.
"He needs to really study, like, who he's thinking about going to," said Haynesworth. "Also, you need to kind of look at the track record of the coach, see if he's going to stay, talk to some former players, just to get the inside scoop about it, and make sure that they're playing the exact same defense as Detroit."
Haynesworth is referencing the way that Washington switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 after signing him and promising that they would run a 4-3. While that is sound advice, it seems like a lineman worthy of a $100 million contract should be able to excel in any scheme (does anybody think J.J. Watt cares what defensive front Houston runs?).
Suh has been linked to a number of teams already, so fans will just have to wait and see exactly what factors are going to be the most important to him.
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