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Former Lions All-Pro Discusses Contract Situation That Led to Him Leaving the Team

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By John Vaccaro | Last updated May 13, 2025 5:43 PM ET

Back in 2015, the Detroit Lions surprisingly lost their best defender to free agency when Ndamukong Suh left for the Miami Dolphins.

The move came after a dominant season from Suh where he posted 8.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss on his way to earning All-Pro First Team honors for a second consecutive years.

Now Cincinnati Bengals edge Trey Hendrickson finds himself in a similar situation.

Hendrickson was responsible for a league-leading 17.5 sacks on his way to a spot on the All-Pro First Team and a second place finish in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Unlike Suh, Hendrickson still has a year left on his contract. However, he has made it clear that he has no intention of playing that year without a new deal getting worked out first.

Suh recently decided to chime in on Hendrickson's contract situation with the Bengals in response to an update on the lack of talks between the two sides.

In a social media post, Suh discussed the circumstances that led to his exit from the Lions.

Yes I 100% agree this is how teams do it and this is exactly how Detroit did me and why I was forced to leave because when it came to them paying me off of an elite 2014 campaign they expected a home town discount..

But they forgot they already got that from me in 2010 when I…
— Ndamukong Suh (@NdamukongSuh) May 12, 2025

Suh ended up signing a massive (at the time) contract with the Dolphins. The six-year, $114 million deal he signed was the largest ever for a defender when he signed it.

It was also worth more per year than the three-year, $53 million contract extension Matthew Stafford had signed with the Lions two years earlier.

The Lions have been much better about paying their homegrown stars in recent years.

Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell are both among the most well-paid players at their positions. Kerby Joseph recently became the NFL's most expensive safety.

They even paid a defensive tackle as Alim McNeill currently has the fifth-largest contract at his position.

Things didn't work out between the Lions and Suh, but the current front office is clearly handling things differently and that has worked out pretty well for both the franchise and the team's core.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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