Lions will not use franchise tag on Ndamukong Suh, per report

Without the franchise tag in place, the Lions will have until next Tuesday to reach an agreement on a new contract with Suh, or the four-time Pro Bowler will be free to test the waters in the open market. Given the slow pace on negotiations between the two sides, it could be difficult to bridge the gap, but it might be in Suh’s best interest to strike a deal with the Lions, a team that has used him in a way that highlights what he does best.

Suh, 28, has four Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro nods in five seasons with the Lions, racking up 36 sacks in 78 starts. The cost of applying the franchise tag to the defensive tackle was just too high for the team, though, and would’ve ate much of the team’s salary cap.

No player in the NFL counted more against the salary cap in 2014 than Suh, who accounted for a $22.4 million hit for the Lions. Players can’t receive a pay cut from the franchise tag though, and that means that instead of receiving the $11.4 million hit expected to be due to franchised defensive tackles, Suh would’ve received 120 percent of his 2014 salary, which comes out to nearly $27 million.

That astronomical number was too much for the Lions, and could mean the end of the road for Suh in Detroit.