Mandatory mini-camp isn’t necessarily a time to formulate many opinions about what you see on the field; however, one thing really stood out after Tuesday’s practice…
Terrell Suggs is in VERY good shape.
As players are required to report for preseason practices, the fan base, who hasn’t seen this guys in pads since last season, clamors to see who has taken care of their bodies away from football and who hasn’t. In the case for Suggs, he appears to have lost 10-15 pounds (unfortunately, fellow outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw found it.)
“He’s healthy, and he’s in great shape,” head coach John Harbaugh said of Suggs. “He looked tremendous out there.
“We dove right into a very fast practice. It’s his first football practice in his offseason program, and he didn’t seem to have any problem at all. He looked good.”
Reporting to camp in phenomenal shape is a no-brainer for Suggs, who carries a team-high $13.02 million cap figure into the 2013 season, and $12 million into 2014. If Suggs is unable to return to at least consideration for Defensive Player of the Year, he could be playing elsewhere following this season.
Suggs wasn’t receiving praises from his head coach; defensive tackle Haloti Ngata had plenty of kind words to say about the man who is never at a loss for words.
“He looks amazing right now,” Ngata said following Tuesday’s practice. “I think he’s just fighting to get back into that Defensive Player of the Year kind of Suggs. It’s exciting to see what he is going to do.”
At a time where veteran leadership is key, it’s encouraging to see Suggs and Ngata lead by example and report to practice in shape. Both of them have overcome bad conditioning in order to be effective in the league in the past. Maybe they can also help Upshaw, who may be taking his first-year success for granted.
