TAMPA, Fla. — The morning after the Bruce Arians bombshell fell on Tampa Bay, another offseason Bucs subplot grew a bit more intriguing.
Evidently, veteran defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh wants to play again in 2022.
The team’s most prominent unsigned defensive free agent, Suh, 35, posted a tweet Thursday morning congratulating defensive coordinator Todd Bowles on being promoted to replace Arians as Bucs coach and suggesting that Bowles needs to work to get Suh re-signed.
“Congrats to Todd Bowles on becoming head coach of a great team that still feels one man light on talent,” Suh tweeted.
Suh and 33-year-old edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul remain unsigned for 2022. But while Pierre-Paul was limited to 12 regular-season games (and only 2 1/2 sacks) by rotator-cuff issues, Suh continued performing at a level (six sacks, 13 quarterback hits in the regular season) belying his birth certificate.
Still, Suh’s age and potential salary (he played for $9 million in 2021) could be prompting the Bucs to consider younger, less-expensive options.
At any rate, the situation represents one of Bowles’ initial orders of business as the 13th head coach in franchise history.
