Dolphins to release DT Ndamukong Suh, should Raiders be interested again?

According to a variety of news outlets and homeless people talking to Jimmy Haslam, the Dolphins will be releasing star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh by Wednesday when the 2018 league year begins. The Dolphins are over the cap by over $3 million even after trading away Jarvis Landry to Cleveland for three magic beans, and their reasons for jettisoning all their good players is a need for “culture change”. That is football-speak for “tanking”.

The Raiders courted Suh heavily the last time he was a free agent in the spring of 2015, but he chose Miami over Oakland. That’s not surprising, because Miami gave him a six-year, $114 million contract, the largest for a defensive player in NFL history. Suh’s financials have always been inflated because he was the second pick in the last draft that featured inflated rookie contracts, making it impossible to franchise tag him. He has pocketed some $140 million in his career.

With Suh at 31 years old he won’t be offered nearly as large a contract as his last go-around, but the Raiders still have a massive hole at defensive tackle just like they did back then. Would the Raiders be interested in bringing him in in 2018? Suh will likely command a short-term, incentive-laden contract which is exactly the sort of contract Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie likes to offer veteran players.

One of the knocks on Suh is that he’s a dirty player, but by all accounts he was a model citizen in Miami. Perhaps he got out all his frustration in Detroit. Richard Seymour was solid for the Raiders, but when he punched out Ben Roethlisberger he became a folk hero. What would happen if Suh got, shall we say, overly physical with whatever sack of potatoes the Broncos put at QB this year?

A more mature Suh was still a force, averaging six sacks a year for the Dolphins while taking up space in the middle. Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon flourished while playing beside him. How would Khalil Mack benefit from the presence of Suh?

The reality is, Suh is still one of the best linemen in the NFL and will have no shortage of suitors. The Seahawks, Cowboys, Browns and Jets all stand to be interested and the Browns can throw the most cash at Suh. But the Raiders have been making moves to cut cap this week and it’s not hard to see McKenzie making an offer to a guy who fits the Raider mystique like Suh.