Ndamukong Suh says he was ‘very close’ to re-signing with Lions in 2015

The Detroit Lions and Ndamukong Suh have both moved on from their divorce in 2015. The Lions have completely shifted their franchise, changing their general manager and entire coaching staff since that offseason. Suh is on his second team since the departure from Lions after a relatively quiet stint in Miami.

Now, Suh is in the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, and during Monday’s media day, he reminisced about that decision he made back in 2015.

“I was very close to staying in Detroit,” Suh told the media according the Detroit Free Press.

Many believed at the time that Suh never really had any intention staying with the Lions. The Lions general manager at the time, Martin Mayhew, expressed confidence that Suh would be back despite tabling negotiations before the 2014 season. The Lions reportedly offered a very competitive contract to Suh, just short of the $114 million contract he signed with the Dolphins.

But according to Suh, it wasn’t about the money.

“I don’t know if it was over enough money, cause I was offered more money than what I got in Miami from other teams,” Suh said. “So it wasn’t about money.”

At the time, there weren’t any other reports of another team offering more money than the Dolphins, so this is an interesting development. However, by all accounts, the Lions weren’t among the teams that outbid Miami.

So why not Detroit? Suh predictably blames the Lions.

“I think they didn’t look at me as an asset they wanted to keep,” Suh said. “They definitely had an opportunity to keep me, so let’s make that very clear.”

To Suh’s credit, Mayhew admitted back in 2015 that he made a lot of mistakes in the Suh negotiations.

“There are about 1,000 things I would have done differently,” he said at the time.

Regardless, Suh has moved on and now has a chance to add a ring to his résumé. Meanwhile, the Lions are probably better off without Suh and the ridiculous contract that the Miami Dolphins found out was far too much for the talented defensive tackle.