Terrell Suggs

Terrell Suggs

Suggs practicing at M&T Bank Stadium, August 2011
No. 55     Baltimore Ravens
Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: October 11, 1982 (1982-10-11)
Place of birth: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Weight: 260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
College: Arizona State
NFL Draft: 2003 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10
Debuted in 2003 for the Baltimore Ravens
Career history
Baltimore Ravens (2003–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Consensus All-American (2002) Ted Hendricks Award (2002) Lombardi Award (2002) Bronko Nagurski Trophy (2002) Bill Willis Trophy (2002) AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2003) PFWA Defensive Rookie of the Year (2003) AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2011) AFC Defensive Player of the Year (2011) 5× Pro Bowl (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011) First-team All-Pro (2011) Second-team All-Pro (2008) AFC Defensive Player of the Month (November 2010, December 2011) Baltimore Ravens all-time career sack leader
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Tackles	565
Sacks	82.5
Interceptions	7
Forced fumbles	27
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com

Terrell Raymonn Suggs (born October 11, 1982) is an American football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Ravens tenth overall in the 2003 NFL Draft after playing college football for Arizona State University.

Early years

Suggs was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a teenager, he attended multiple schools, the first being Chandler High School. He later transferred to Hamilton High School where he set the Arizona Class 5A record for rushing yards in a game with 367 against Yuma Kofa as a junior in 1999.

As a senior, Suggs was named a Parade high school All-American in 2000, Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year, the No. 1 jumbo athlete in the nation by SuperPrep Magazine, Arizona Player of the Year by USA Today as well as an All-American by USA Today and the 60th-best player in the nation by Sporting News.

In addition, Suggs lettered three times in basketball and once in track and field.

College career

Suggs chose to attend Arizona State University, where he played defensive end for coach Bruce Snyder and coach Dirk Koetter's Arizona State Sun Devils football teams from 2001 to 2002. He finished his career with 163 tackles, including a school, career-record 65.5 tackles for losses, and 44 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, and 9 passes deflected. As a junior, he set an NCAA single-season record with 24 sacks. As a sophomore in 2002, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.

Professional career

Suggs was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens 10th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft, becoming one of the youngest defensive players at only 20 years old until defensive tackle Amobi Okoye was drafted by the Houston Texans at age 19 in 2007.

Along with several rookies that were expected to be first-round picks such as Carson Palmer, Suggs appeared in commercials for Madden NFL 2004 during the airing of the draft. All of these commercials would feature the rookies doing tasks for a veteran Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, Suggs' future teammate. In his commercial, Lewis had Suggs carry his bags from the field to the locker room.

Suggs' enjoyed immediate success as a rookie in 2003 as he tied an NFL record by posting a sack in each of his first four games. He finished the season with 27 tackles (19 solo), 12 sacks(a Ravens franchise rookie record), 6 forced fumbles, 2 pass deflections and 1 interception, earning him Defensive Rookie of The Year honors while only starting one game that year.

The next season he was elected to his first Pro Bowl as he recorded 10.5 sacks and 60 tackles (45 solo).

In 2005 the Ravens' new defensive co-ordinator Rex Ryan, son of famous defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, moved Suggs from outside linebacker to defensive end in many of the defensive schemes. Despite registering a then-career-low 8 sacks, Suggs also set new career-highs in tackles with 69 (46 solo) and interceptions with 2.

In 2006 Suggs was part of the NFL's best overall defense, the unit allowing a league-low 12.6 points per game. He recorded 64 tackles (46 solo), 9.5 sacks and set new career-high in pass deflections with 8. After the season he was voted to the Pro Bowl for the second time. He was a major contributor as the Ravens went 13-3. For the season Suggs started nine games at right defensive end in the Ravens base 4-3 and seven games when the Ravens started game in a base 3-4 defense. Suggs also earned attention for his flashy playing style, "Suggs evolved into one of the league's best pass-rushers whether he is blitzing as a linebacker or rushing from defensive end with one hand on the ground."

The following season in 2007 Suggs made 80 tackles (52 solo) and five sacks, as he and the Ravens plummeted to 5-11. Like the season before Suggs was a hybrid defensive end/linebacker, playing 50 percent of the defensive snaps at defensive end in the Ravens base defense.

On February 19, 2008, the Ravens placed the franchise tag on Suggs. He initially filed a grievance because the team had designated him as a LB with the franchise tag rather than a DE, which resulted in a monetary difference of about $800,000. Despite being unhappy with the franchise tag, Suggs reported to off-season mini-camps to practice with the team. On May 13, 2008, he reached an agreement with the team to split the difference in the franchise tag amounts of a LB and a DE and drop his grievance.

In Week 7 of the 2008 NFL season Terrell Suggs intercepted a pass from Chad Pennington of the Miami Dolphins and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown, the first of his professional career. Two weeks later he intercepted Derek Anderson of the Cleveland Browns for a game-sealing touchdown. At season's end, he was named to his third Pro Bowl after producing 68 tackles (53 solo), 2 forced fumbles and 8 sacks to go along with the 2 interceptions, a new career-high 9 pass break-ups and 2 touchdowns. During the 2008–09 NFL playoffs Suggs recorded sacks in all three of the Ravens' post-season games, including two in the AFC Championship game against Ben Roethlisberger, who Suggs sacked often over the years.

On February 18, 2009, he was once again given the Ravens' franchise tag. On July 15, 2009 the Ravens signed him to a 6-year, $62.5 million contract. His bonus money ($33.1 million) made him the highest paid linebacker in NFL history.

The 2009 season was not as productive for Suggs as he recorded a career-low in sacks with 4.5. Playing above his normal playing weight, he also missed the first three games of his career due to injury after quarterback Brady Quinn dove at his legs on a turnover. In the wild Card playoff game against the New England Patriots, Suggs sacked and forced a Tom Brady fumble before recovering the ball on the Patriots' opening drive, helping the Ravens ultimately win 33–14.

In 2010, Suggs compiled 68 tackles (53 solo), 11.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 pass deflections. In the play-off win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round, he made 4 tackles (all solo) and two sacks. Against the Steelers in the divisional playoff round, he recorded six tackles (5 solo), a career-high three sacks, and a forced fumble that was recovered and returned for a touchdown by fellow DE Cory Redding.

The 2011 season was one of Suggs' best. He was selected to the 2012 Pro Bowl in Hawaii and to the 2011 All Pro Team. Additionally, he was awarded the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for December, 2011

On January 16, 2012, it was announced that Suggs was named the Pro Football Weekly Defensive Player of the Year. The very next day, he was also named the NFL 101 AFC Defensive Player of the Year, voted on by 101 national media members.

On February 4, 2012, it was announced that Suggs was named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2011 season. Suggs had registered 14 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, and 2 interceptions during the 2011 campaign. He beat out second leading vote getter Jared Allen by 7 votes.

External links

• Ravens Player Bio