There will be no new contract for Ndamukong Suh, at least not in 2014. Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand said Monday that the team has decided to table contract negotiations with the Pro Bowl defensive tackle until after the season, according to Jennifer Hammond of myFOXDetroit.com.
Lions table Ndamukong Suh contract negotiations
Team president Tom Lewand says the team will wait until after the 2014 season to resume talks.
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Suh is entering the final year of his rookie contract and stands to make $12.5 million in 2014. He is already the highest-paid defensive tackle in the NFL and his $22.4 million salary cap number this season is the highest in the league.
The Lions are not expected to use the franchise tag on Suh next year because it will cost them almost $26.9 million, reports Dave Birkett of USA Today.
Suh has restructured his deal in each of the last two seasons at the behest of the Lions, who managed to free up short-term cap space with the moves. But those moves came at a cost, as it pushed the cap hit into later seasons, resulting in the behemoth 2014 number.
The news of the postponed negotiations comes just hours after head coach Jim Caldwell told the Detroit Free Press he was optimistic that a new deal would get done.
Suh told ESPN over the weekend that he isn’t worrying about a new contract.
“I don’t have a timetable,” Suh said. “That’s my agent. I don’t have to worry about it. I can focus on football, and that’s my job, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
See More:
