Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks have earned a slight reprieve from their division rivals in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that former Rams defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh agreed to a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 32-year-old Suh was on the NFC champion Rams last season on a similar one-year contract. Before he signed with L.A., Suh was looked at by the Seahawks as a potential “homecoming” signing — he is originally from Portland, Oregon.
This will help the Seahawks’ chances of beating the Rams in 2019. Even in his early 30s, Suh is still a dominant force along the defensive line; he finished last season with 59 tackles, 19 quarterback hits and four sacks. In both narrow wins over Seattle last year, Suh logged 1.5 sacks, four quarterback hits and 15 tackles.
While these raw numbers may not be as flashy as other defenders’, Suh’s true impact is hard to quantify. He still forces offensive lines to double-team him when blocking, which inevitably opens up room for two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald to wreak havoc.
While the Seahawks will still have to face off against Suh when the Buccaneers visit Seattle, the important thing is they won’t have to play him more than once. Getting Suh out of the NFC West and off the talented defensive front of the Rams will certainly help a Seahawks offensive line that struggled in pass protection last season.
