Did the Dolphins make a mistake by signing Suh?

Jeff -

It might sound crazy to accuse a team of making a mistake by signing the leagues most dominant interior lineman during his prime years, but hear me out here for a second.

Now don't get me wrong, Suh is a force that any team would love to have anchoring their defense for years to come, but at what cost? His cap hit for 2015 is a pedestrian $6.085 million, but in 2016 it jumps to $28.585 million. No that is not a typo. His average annual salary will be around $19 million.

That is just a ridiculous number for any player not throwing 40+ TD's per year or with the last name Watt on the back of their jersey.

Few teams can afford to dedicate that much of the cap to a defensive tackle, and the Dolphins are not one of those teams. They are a team lacking a single great offensive weapon, heck I would venture to say they don't have a single very good offensive weapon. They have a few nice pieces on defense, but this team has so many holes that could've been nicely filled with multiple mid-level players for the same cost as one Ndamukong Suh.

If Detroit could only muster 2 winning seasons with Suh in the middle (a team that has much better talent than Miami) then what makes you think he will have more success in Miami?

An interesting note to all of this is the fact that Suh's greatest statistical season thus far was his rookie year. Now I'm not sure if that's a red flag or not but it is something to at least make you scratch your head.

Only time will tell if this was a home run signing for the Dolphins or not, but I have a strong feeling that within 2.5 years Suh will be demanding a trade and unhappy with the team's lack of success.

Clayton -

Suh is by far the most feared interior lineman in the league, but this contract is asinine. He is well deserving, but the numbers are outrageous. Six years, $114 million and $60 million guaranteed. Thankfully for the Dolphins, the salary cap is expected to have major increases soon.

Wow.

I have two issues with this deal. First off it is back loaded after this year. General Managers should have learned by now that that is not a good idea.

Second, because of the massive guarantees in the first three years and the cap hit following will be immovable. Not just by trade, to cut him will be a massive amount of dead money.

There will be no Michael Johnson type cutting like Tampa just did. Miami will have to live with this deal.

The numbers are just crazy on this contract. Sadly, many of those pieces you mentioned on their defense are now cut or free to go sign elsewhere to make room for him. Bye Kendall Langford, Randy Starks, Jared Odrick, Cortland Finnegan, Phillip Wheeler and Dannell Ellerbe. That was just on defense! Gone too are Brandon Gibson and Brian Hartline on offense.

Now some of those guys have been busts signings or re-signings in Miami (Wheeler, Ellerbe and Hartline), but that is a lot of quality talent they will have to find on the cheap.

He is a massive upgrade but the supporting cast is now severely diminished. How they can improve now will be a monumental task. They will have to nail it with their draft picks and then make smart cheap signings. That will be difficult.

Now about his rookie year being his best statistical year. That really is only in sacks (10), and he has had two campaigns of eight or more in the last 3 years. That does not take into account his hits on the quarterback, hurries or other pressures. He was far and away the best player on the Lions defense, who was the no. 1 rated run defense in the NFL and no. 3 overall.

His talent can not be overstated in my opinion. He is a four time first team All-Pro while being on a team that for his three first years were not very good despite his abilities. The lone year he wasn't a first team All-Pro? 2012 and even then he was second team All-Pro. This man is truly dominant.

There is some talent left on the defense in Detroit, but how much is debatable. Expect a steep drop off in Detroit without Suh or the likely to leave Nick Fairley.

Suh had been compared to Reggie White in the fact they were the best defensive player to ever hit the free agent market, and I believe this is true. Some are saying White would not have handicapped his new team quite like this, but honestly that is a load of bull. Most free agents seek out top dollar. Perfect example is Revis. New York could offer more and that is where he wanted to be again. Reggie White likely would have done just as Suh did.

You can thank much of this contract due to the old rookie wage scale. In a few years Dolphins fans will be crying about the talent around Suh and blaming him for taking too much money. I can envision the Dolphins having a hard time doing just that, but it is not Suh's fault. In reality, it is the Dolphins fault. They offered the money.

My prediction, he will continue to be phenomenal but the surrounding cast will likely be average at best in most areas due to the constraints of the deal.