It was nothing personal, just (family) business.
The idea of Terrell Suggs wearing any threads beyond the Baltimore Ravens' purple and black was Charm City chicanery for 16 years. Suggs and his dominating defensive deeds were Sunday staples at M&T Bank Stadium from the moment he was welcomed to Baltimore as the 10th overall pick of the 2003 draft.
Such sacrilege became a reality in 2019 when Suggs signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. The move to Glendale ended Suggs' 229-game tenure in Baltimore, the most among any Ravens defender and second-most in franchise history overall (behind punter Sam Koch).
With the ratification of Baltimore immortality looming, Suggs broke his silence about his move to the desert in an interview with Rick Ritter of WJZ. As much as he would've loved Maryland exclusivity, Suggs had a cause beyond the football field.
"My mom was terminally ill," Suggs explained. "No one knows this, we're a pretty private family. She was pretty much in her final stages and I couldn't be in both places at once, both Arizona and Baltimore.
"I couldn't look after her and train, work out, and go back to Baltimore. I just couldn't do both. I was going to sign back and I decided at the last minute I can't, I couldn't. If something happened to my mom while I was gone, I would've never forgiven myself."
Suggs, who turns 41 on Wednesday, was born in Minneapolis but moved to Arizona in 1995 with his parents Donald and Laverne. He starred at Hamilton High School before making his NFL case at Arizona State.
The linebacker said that Ravens executive vice president Ozzie Newsome made a case for him to stay. but familial roots and care came calling. Laverne passed away in May 2020 but Suggs said the opportunity for her to see some of his games as a Cardinal was "special."
"I came home to kind of take care of my mom and she ended up passing the next year, but we did have that last year together," Suggs said. "At the end of the day, it wasn't how I wanted it to end. I wanted to be in black and purple forever, but it didn't happen that way."
It lasted only 13 games but the image of Suggs in a Cardinals uniform remains one of the most bizarre visions in Baltimore sports. Suggs was a casualty of Arizona's youth movement and was released in December (a mutual decision between him and the team). He later signed with the Kansas City Chiefs and partook in their victorious run to Super Bowl LIV.
Even with the unconventional ending, Suggs remains one of the most beloved Ravens among the fan base. He will be inducted into the team's Ring of Honor prior to their next home game against the Detroit Lions on Oct. 22.
His final NFL stanzas featured familial fulfillment and a second Vince Lombardi Trophy lift but Suggs reiterated that he sees himself as a "Raven for life."
"From the moment I got (to Baltimore), it was just like my life changed, my football career just changed," Suggs said. "I played with football Gods. Who can say they played with the best left tackle ever (Jonathan Ogden), the best middle linebacker ever (Ray Lewis), the best strong safety (Ed Reed) together? I was on the team with all of these guys, all of these Hall of Famers."
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