The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are replacing the 2010 No. 3 overall pick with the 2010 No. 2 overall pick.
A day after releasing Gerald McCoy, the Bucs are closing in on a one-year deal with free agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports, per a source informed of the deal.
Suh spent the 2018 campaign with the Los Angeles Rams, proving he could fit into a 3-4 scheme, which likely makes him a better match than McCoy with Bucs new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Suh started the season slow in L.A., but came on strong down the stretch and played beastly in the playoffs. If the Bucs get postseason Suh as opposed to early-season Suh, it will be a boon for a defense that needs front-line aid.
Suh compiled 4.5 sacks during the 2018 regular season campaign and hasn’t generated more than six sacks in a season since he left Detroit in 2015. His pocket-pushing play in the playoffs, however, showed the upside the 32-year-old still possesses when motivated.
Dropping Suh into Bowles’ scheme could make a stellar pairing. The New York Jets attempted to add Suh when Bowles was the head coach with Gang Green, but the defensive tackle picked L.A. instead. Now the new Bucs’ DC lands his man.
The Buccaneers were in dire need of additional front-line help after cutting McCoy, which followed Jason Pierre-Paul‘s recent neck injury after a car accident. Pairing Suh with Vita Vea, who came on strong at the end of last season, could make for the start of a solid interior in front of a potentially dynamite linebacker duo in Lavonte David and Devin White. However, there remain big question marks dotting Bowles’ D.
While there is no word yet on the financials of Suh’s deal, it’s presumably less than the $13 million McCoy was slated to make from Tampa in 2019.