Caldwell Does Not Want To Find Out What Defense Looks Like Without Suh
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell expressed optimism Thursday that the team can re-sign defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, even if Suh will settle for nothing less than surpassing Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt as the most highly paid defensive player in the league.
"I'm not worried about that aspect of it," Caldwell said at the NFL combine. "I'm worried about him coming back playing for us, and that's what we're looking at, and maybe that comes with it ... Maybe it comes with it, but I think [general manager] Martin [Mayhew] indicated and told you that we're prepared to do whatever it takes to get him, and that's what the negotiations are for. He's a talented, talented guy who does a lot for us."
The Lions have been outspoken about how much they want Suh to return. Caldwell even said he does not want to envision what the defense would look like without him.
"I hope not to have to find that out, but if we do, I would still have to cross that bridge when it comes," Caldwell said. "Now do we look at it and think about it, because it's a possibility, there's no question about that, but we're not necessarily going to tell you – I don't tell you during game week what we're going to do from a schematic standpoint, so I'm not going to change that."
One of the reasons the Lions believe they have a good chance to sign Suh, they have said, is his apparent appreciation of the city and its surrounding areas. Thursday there was a picture on Twitter of Suh posing with new Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh. Suh had gone to visit Harbaugh in Ann Arbor.
"That's one of the unique things about him - you can tell that he loves the city because he's around in Michigan quite a bit of late," Caldwell said. "As I mentioned to you before, last year about this time, I had just taken the job, and I saw him more than any other player because he was always around the city, back and forth and et cetera. I think he's still keeping his same sort of routine. But yeah, I know he's been around."
Suh will become a free agent March 10 if the Lions do not sign him to a long-term deal. Mayhew said Wednesday at the combine that the organization has not decided whether it would use the franchise tag on Suh. The deadline to do so is March 2.
