Terrell Suggs deserves another contract with the Baltimore Ravens

I’ve gone back and forth a bit with the question as to whether the Ravens should re-sign Terrell Suggs to another contract, but I’ve made up my mind. The Baltimore Ravens should bring back the franchise leader in games played in a Ravens’ uniform.

The entrenched leader of the old guard still commands respect and offers the same to those who earn it. Terrell, as tenacious and competitive as he is, asks for everything out of his teammates and gives it back in spades. At 36 years old, he’s still playing at a level worth keeping him on the field for. He generated 7.0 sacks during the 2018 campaign, tied for second on the team (Za’Darius Smith-8.5, Matt Judon-7.0). Even if he slows down, he’s good for another 3-5 sack season. I believe some would argue to let Sizzle walk/retire and free up both Tyus Bowser and Tim Williams, but the Ravens should not need to let Suggs walk to give these two snaps. A 23- and 25-year old duo of pass rushers should be capable of out-performing a man in the twilight of his career. Also, with the development of these two up-in-the-air, why would letting Suggs walk be a positive? Shouldn’t the Ravens franchise leader in sacks (132.5) be used as a guide to become a better player?

It’s not like he’s underperforming or tailing off at the end of each season. Against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16, he was the highest-rated defender on the Ravens, according to PFF.

Topping the defenders was OLB Terrell Suggs with 92.5 game grade. He logged a season-best eight total pressures (one hit and seven hurries), giving Chargers RT Sam Tevi a rough evening. — PFF

I don’t see why the team would want to part ways with the legend. Some argue money, therefore I’ve covered this below.

For the adjustments, I went to spotrac to manage the 2019 Ravens roster and experiment with how the money could work.

Note: All numbers will be according to spotrac

Cutting QB Joe Flacco saves the Ravens $10.5 million in 2019. The Ravens will more than likely sign LB C.J. Mosley, barring Eric DeCosta believing Patrick Onwuasor and Kenny Young are the future duo on the inside. Spotrac has Mosley’s market value at $9.7 million, but his ‘Base Calculated Value’ below shows an average of $10.07 million. For goodness sake, I rounded the re-signing of Mosley to $10.1 million, meaning the team saves only $400,000 from cutting Flacco. This still leaves $35 million in cap space.

Unfortunately, spotrac does not have a Market Value for Suggs. No matter; his last deal averaged $5.175 million. Cutting that down to $4.8 million for a one-year deal sounds reasonable enough. Honestly, I doubt Suggs is worried about the money, seeing as his career earnings top $105,210,000.

Hey Terrell, you wanna help a man with some student loans?

I’m not saying Sizzle should work for free or veteran minimum; that’s not going to happen. I do believe, however, that if the Ravens offer Suggs $4.5-5 million while another team is willing to pay $6+ million, the bigger deal isn’t as meaningful when he’s accrued over $100 million in his career.

A final note, is Suggs’ desire to be a career-long Raven. Nearly five years ago, Terrell Suggs inked a four-year, $28.5 million deal. The team followed up the signing with a news conference in which Suggs expressed his emotions about the contract.

“It’s just really a great day for me, and I’m truly flattered,” said Suggs, seated alongside general manager Ozzie Newsome during a Monday news conference at the Under Armour Performance Center. “I’m honored that I get to be a Raven for life.” — Jeff Zrebiec, The Baltimore Sun

Now, half a decade later, I’m confident his feelings remain the same. He loves his team and wants to be remembered as a Baltimore Raven legend.