Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht said he wants Ndamukong Suh to return. Now, the defensive tackle said he wants to return.
“My goal is to come back and have an opportunity to go win another championship,” Suh told Albert Breer of SI.com. “Me and Tom [Brady] spoke the other day about that opportunity, as well as with Jason Licht. I don’t know if you saw our parade celebration on that podium, coach [Bruce Arians] said I’m not going anywhere, and he’s usually a man of his word. So I look forward to the opportunity to continue to play, especially for Tampa. And I honestly believe I have a lot of elite, great talent left in me to play. I’m not ready to hang them up yet.”
Suh, 34, signed a one-year, $9.25 million with the Bucs in 2019 and a one-year, $8 million deal last season. He likely will have to settle for less if he returns to the Bucs in 2021.
The Bucs have only 31 players under contract, with Suh, outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, inside linebacker Lavonte David, receiver Chris Godwin and tight end Rob Gronkowski among the team’s free agents.
Suh, who made two tackles and 1.5 sacks in Super Bowl LV after making six sacks during the regular season, doesn’t sound anywhere close to retiring.
“Along with being able to still have that energy, that fire to go out there, I think the biggest thing that pushed me throughout this season was knowing I have twins on the way,” Suh said. “Being able to have them come into this world as champions, but then also me play a couple years, maybe five, who knows? That they get to see me on the football field and experience that at a certain age, obviously they’re going to be super young, going back this year. But just for them to be able to experience and be around that environment [would be great].”