Suh opens up about decision to leave

[Daytona Fin]

On Saturday mornings for most of the last five years, before every home game, Ndamukong Suh usually found himself at a back corner table in the Rugby Grille at the Townsend Hotel, not too far from his Birmingham home.

Table 74 was his sanctuary after a morning walk-through, where he gathered with his family or friends or business associates — whoever was in town — and had a croissant sandwich with eggs and bacon, a side of fruit and a heaping order of French toast while he decompressed from the week.

On Saturday nights, after the Lions checked into their team hotel in downtown Detroit, Suh always made his way to Roast in the Westin Book Cadillac, ordered a steak, well done, with a side of spinach and feta cheese.

"There is no question that it's a huge misconception that I didn't want to be here," Suh told the Free Press in an exclusive interview. "I've always wanted to be here, especially growing up (as a person) here, being drafted here and having such a huge warm welcome. I think anybody would be crazy not to want to be at a place that they're superly embraced. There's tons of people in this community that I have gotten to know over time that to me, one, I've created mentors here, people from the business world that have just reached out and wanting to make sure that I'm doing the right things. So for me it was not an easy decision by any means."

"We stretched in a very significant way to try and accommodate him, as well as a lot of other guys on the roster, and obviously he had another option that he thought was better. And he made his decision and both parties are going to move on positively, and as I said we wish him the best and we're going to focus on making our team better and moving forward to reach our goals."


Suh's agent, Jimmy Sexton, declined to comment for this story, but Suh said, money aside, his final decision "was a very difficult one" because of his ties to the team and area.

"For me, my goal was always to come back," Suh said. "I was never looking to want to leave and figure out a different situation. But at the end of the day, I have to do what's best for myself and for my family because at the end of the day, those are people I have to look in the eyes each and every single day for the rest of my life and know I made the right decision for us as a whole and for my future and my future kids, my wife, that I'll eventually hopefully have soon."

"I thought at every single point through the process that I was going to be in Detroit," Suh said. "Even after they didn't do the franchise tag and I spoke to Mrs. Ford after that piece, I still felt just a great, great chance of me still being in Detroit. So, it wasn't until really, really late, late in the process is where I was like, 'Wow, I got to, I actually got to start thinking outside of Detroit.' "

Suh said Ford wasn't necessarily trying to convince him to stay during their call, that "it was just a good conversation."

"She obviously said she would for sure miss me if I left and whatnot, and her cheering section in her exact words," Suh said. "But it was just a good conversation just to kind of catch up and we just kind had some dialogue from there.

"It was definitely meaningful that she reached out to me. She didn't have to, by any means. She's the owner and she can do kind of whatever she wants. So I definitely appreciated it. Like I said, it was just a good, cordial conversation."


Although Suh said he long thought he'd stay a Lion, the possibility he would play elsewhere in 2015 was evident for more than a year.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2015/03/15/detroit-lions-ndamukong-suh/24782133/

 

[AL R]

Just read it before you posted it up, just reinforces the fact that the game we love to watch in the end is a 'business'.

 

[LordTua]

He better embrace Miami as his new home, we don't need a BMarsh style disgruntled player on our hands. South Florida's better than Detroit DK!!

 

[D0lphan72]

Don't haynesworth it and it's all good

 

[Valandui]

Suh confirmed not knowing how to eat a steak.

 

[rrrrphin]

everything that i have read about him makes him sound like a righteous and cerebral dude....the antithesis of his on field persona

 

[Stoobz]

Just imagine if somehow the Dolphins can get Danny Shelton lining up beside him the next few years...

 

[MegaFinz]

Oh great! He's gonna pull a Lebron on us at the end. If it ends with back to back championships then I say go back and finish your career and retire as a lion. Oh and thank you Mr.Suh for your service. :up:

 

[BlueFin]

What do you expect him to say?....Screw Detroit?

He has relationships he developed there....he is being respectful.

Hopefully he'll develop some here and help this team win a championship.

I suspect Detroit will get more and more distant in his rearview mirror.

 

[The Goat]

Suh confirmed not knowing how to eat a steak.

Agreed...but you can tell him that. 'Cause I sure as hell ain't gonna.

 

[J. David Wannyheimer]

What do you expect him to say?....Screw Detroit?

He has relationships he developed there....he is being respectful.

Hopefully he'll develop some here and help this team win a championship.

I suspect Detroit will get more and more distant in his rearview mirror.

Yeah. No matter what he says, people in Detroit are going to hate him for leaving, but he's obviously trying not to completely burn that bridge.

 

[Bumpus]

Suh confirmed not knowing how to eat a steak.

Really.

Well done?!? :confused:

 

[Buddy]

Suh confirmed not knowing how to eat a steak.

That's what stuck out to me...he ruined that steak!

 

[uk_dolfan]

Saw this on twitter, amused me that they used the back page to detail his menu choices

 

[utahphinsfan]

Suh confirmed not knowing how to eat a steak.

N. Suh does sound like a reasonable articulate person off the field except when it comes to eating steak.

It s/b between medium rare and medium (wrapped in bacon) with a baked potato loaded w/ cheese and sour cream.