Considered as arguably the most revered defensive tackle of his time when playing, former Bucs defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has announced his retirement on Saturday. This is a sentimental moment for Suh as he makes the announcement one year removed from the passing of his father.
July 12, 2024 was the hardest day of my life.
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.
He wasn’t just a dad. He was my idol, my coach, and my anchor.
He taught me what it meant to… pic.twitter.com/WkefQaDrsQ— Ndamukong Suh (@NdamukongSuh) July 12, 2025
Suh spent 13 seasons in the NFL, last playing in 2022. He played three season for the Bucs and was very important in the turnaround of the franchise helping Tampa Bay win a Super Bowl in the 2020 season.
Bucs DT Ndamukong Suh – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Ndamukong Suh’s Career With Bucs
It was a memorable three seasons for Suh and the Bucs. He started in all 49 regular season games and recorded 112 tackles, 14.5 sacks, one forced fumble, five fumble recoveries and scored two defensive touchdowns.
Suh also started in all six playoff games with 18 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. He was an intricate part of the Bucs defensive line when they won Super Bowl LV in the 2020 season. Along with his great play, Suh was an important mentor to several players, especially nose tackle Vita Vea. The two have struck up a great friendship and still work out in the offseason together. Suh has been very vocal about the important of athletes being financially sound and even has a new podcast about it that Vea joined on as a guest recently.
Bucs NT Vita Vea and DT Ndamukong Suh – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Hall Of Fame Should Be Coming For Ndamukong Suh
In the entirety of his career Ndamukong Suh played 199 games and recorded 600 combined tackles, 130 tackles for loss, 71.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries, 38 pass breakups, one interception and three defensive touchdowns, including two with the Bucs. He was the second overall pick out of Nebraska by the Detroit Lions in the 2010 NFL Draft. That was just one pick before Tampa Bay took Gerald McCoy third.
Bucs DT Ndamukong Suh – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Suh would go on to play five seasons with the Lions, three with the Dolphins, one with the Rams, three with the Bucs and then finished up with one year on the Eagles. He played in three Super Bowls, including the last game of his career in 2022, but his lone Super Bowl win was with the Bucs.
Bucs DT Ndamukong Suh – Photo by: USA Today
There’s no argument that Ndamukong Suh is up there with the most dominant players at his position in the history. His contributions to Tampa Bay should certianly be noticed amongst Bucs fans. It is likely that we see him with a gold jacket going in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he is eligible later on. Congrats to Ndamukong Suh on a great career!
