On Saturday, July 12, former Detroit Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh made his official retirement from professional football public on social media.
Over the course of 13 NFL seasons (2010–2022), Suh played for five different teams; he began his career with the Lions in 2010–14. In the 2022 season, he played in eight games and recorded one sack for the Philadelphia Eagles, who went on to win the NFC. That was his final NFL season.
He posted on social media, saying, “I left it all on the field, and now I’m stepping away with peace and gratitude.”
His journey
After Suh had a stellar senior season at Nebraska in 2009, the Lions selected him with the second overall choice in the 2010 draft. In his first season in 2010, Suh recorded a team-high 10 sacks and 13 tackles for loss while starting all 16 games for the Lions. Suh was awarded a first-team All-Pro in 2010 and the league’s defensive rookie of the year for his efforts.
In his five seasons with the Lions, Suh was selected to the Pro Bowl four times (2010, 2012, and 2014), despite never having as many sacks as he did in his debut campaign. Additionally, he received three first-team All-Pro selections (2010, 2013–14) and a second-team All-Pro selection in 2012.
Prior to the 2015 season, Suh signed a six-year, $114 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, making him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history at the time, rather than rejoining the Lions when he became a free agent. Before joining the Los Angeles Rams for the 2018 season, he spent three years playing for the Dolphins.
At Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, Suh’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl 55, earning him his lone Super Bowl victory. Before playing his final season in Philadelphia in 2022, he spent three seasons with the Buccaneers. Suh is tied for 15th place all-time with 36 career sacks and leads the Lions defensive line with 66 total tackles for loss. During his five seasons with the Lions, the team finished 42–42.
On a number of social media platforms, Suh declared that his retirement falls on the one-year anniversary of his father’s passing: “It’s time to let football go,” he told me one last time before he went away. You’ve accomplished all of your goals. “The next chapter is about to begin,” he wrote.
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