Nebraska Football Legend Ndamukong Suh Announces Retirement

“It’s the day I said goodbye to my father, the man who raised me, shaped me, challenged me, and believed in me before I believed in myself,” Suh said on social media. “He wasn’t just a dad. He was my idol, my coach, and my anchor. He taught me what it meant to be disciplined, focused, and relentless in everything I do. Every snap I took in football carried his fingerprint. Every time I lined up across from someone, I could hear his voice pushing me, reminding me that I wasn’t just representing myself. I was representing him, my family, my name. Before he passed, he gave me one final piece of advice, ‘It’s time to let football go. You’ve done everything you set out to do. Now it’s time for the next chapter.’”

Suh became respected for his dominant play style at Nebraska, playing for the Cornhuskers from 2005-2009. The defensive tackle's breakout season came in his junior year in 2008, when he recorded a team-high 76 tackles, 7½ tackles for loss, two interceptions, and a touchdown reception during coach Bo Pelini's first year as head coach in Lincoln. Suh would earn first-team All-Big 12 honors and was named an honorable mention All-American for his efforts.

Suh spurned the National Football League to return for his senior season, setting up one of the most dominant individual seasons by a defensive player in college football history. The defensive lineman was a force, registering 85 tackles, 12 sacks, 28 quarterback hurries, 20½ tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups, three blocked kicks and an interception to help Nebraska to a Big 12 North Division title and a spot in the Big 12 Championship game.

In the Big 12 title game between the Huskers and the Texas Longhorns, Suh's individual performance nearly toppled the eventual Big 12 champs' chances to play in the national championship game. Suh had 12 tackles, including seven for loss (a Nebraska single-game record) along with 4½ sacks in the 13-12 loss. The defensive lineman earned MVP honors for his effort and was a Heisman Trophy finalist, finishing fourth.

Suh collected the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, and Outland Trophy honors for his senior campaign while also being recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American. After his finish with Nebraska, Suh was described as "maybe the most dominating defensive tackle I've seen in 32 years" by ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper. The Nebraska product was selected No. 2 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, becoming the highest-drafted Nebraska defender since Neil Smith in 1988.

Suh would play five of his 13 National Football League seasons in Detroit, helpin the Lions to two postseason appearances in 2011 and 2014. He would sign with the MIami Dolphins in 2015 on a six-year, $114 million contract, becoming the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history at the time. Suh would finish his time in Miami in 2017 before signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018.

Suh would sign one-year contract deals with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the following three seasons from 2019-2021, winning Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2021. The defensive lineman's final NFL season would come in late 2022, when the Philadelphia Eagles inked Suh to a one-year contract in November. The Eagles would fall to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, 38-35.

Suh finished his professional football journey with 199 games played, including 191 career starts with 600 total tackles, 71½ sacks and 38 passes defended.

Suh played in Super Bowls for each of his last three teams, a rare accomplishment. The short list of players who have played in Super Bowls for three different franchises includes Rod Woodson (Steelers, Ravens, Raiders), Bill Romanowski (49ers, Broncos, Raiders), Preston Pearson (Colts, Steelers, Cowboys), Harry Swayne (Chargers, Broncos, Ravens) and Joe Jurevicius (Giants, Buccaneers, Seahawks), per Pro Football Talk.

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