Cleveland Browns: 3 affordable free agents who could find a second life

Terrell Suggs

Oh let’s go there. Unlike Manti Te’o, who you hope could start, Terrell Suggs isn’t here to start. He’d be brought in to blitz. To blitz all night as Coach Yoast said in Remember the Titans. Suggs would follow in the same vein as former NFL icons Clay Matthews Jr. and Kevin Greene, guys who played late into their career but mostly as pass rushers.

Suggs could join guys like Matthews, Bruce Smith, and Junior Seau as some of the guys who played past their age 37 seasons and played well. Unlike them, Suggs wouldn’t need to be on the field for most of the defensive plays. He can still clearly start but it’s not his pass-rushing skills alone that makes him valuable.

It’s his versatility. He’s had over six years of college and pro time as a defensive end. He’s actually bigger than Olivier Vernon, and could easily line up as a defensive end still. Even if he’s lost a full step or two as a linebacker, that would still mean he’s quick enough to be productive as an end.

There’s no telling if Suggs could play linebacker in a 4-3 full time, but who’s to say he can’t? There are too many fans who don’t understand that players are adaptable. Sure it might not be a good scheme fit in theory but he’s played both positions in both defensives. There is the chance that Suggs could come in, get anywhere from 5-10 sacks as a reserved player, and help take the pressure off of Myles Garrett.

Even if he can’t, he’d be brought in on a one-year, bare-bones deal with some incentives for performance-based stats. So if he doesn’t pan out, he doesn’t pan out. No one is advocating for him to get a Kirk Cousins’ contract.