Suggs not considering retirement these days
By The Associated Press
Terrell Suggs knows he’ll face the question at the close of each season and the start of the next. Is this the end? Pro football grinds up the average player in less than four seasons. Suggs is entering his 16th. But, as he spoke to reporters Thursday on the last day of the Baltimore Ravens’ mandatory minicamp, it was hard to think of the 35-year-old linebacker as an old man.
His mood was light, his waist lean and his arms rippled with muscle. He certainly wasn’t declaring this his last ride, not after he made his seventh Pro Bowl last season.
“I’ll never do that,” he said in his first comments since the final game of 2017.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say that: Going in, this will be my [last]. Nah. It’ll probably be one day, I’ll just wake up. But I don’t think I’ll ever not love it. I didn’t choose this. I was born, and this is what I am.”
Suggs played all 16 games last season without the nicks, bruises or more serious injuries that had worn him down during previous campaigns. Because he exited healthy, he ramped up his offseason conditioning more quickly and steadily
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than he has in many years.
He credited Ravens trainer Mark Smith and strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders for helping him to stay on track. He was asked if he has been in better shape at this point in the offseason.
“I guess we’ll have to see,” he said softly. “I feel pretty good.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh offered louder praise, echoing comments he has made about Suggs all offseason.
“I have learned to never speculate on what might inspire Terrell Suggs,” Harbaugh said. “But he’s inspired, there’s no question about it. Whatever he’s doing, he’s inspiring people around him. I mean, the guy is in phenomenal shape.
“He’s at another level of conditioning.”
Jets
New York signed veteran defensive lineman Courtney Upshaw after a three-day tryout during minicamp.
Upshaw spent the past two seasons with Atlanta after being a second-round draft pick by Baltimore out of Alabama in 2012. He has seven sacks in his career, five forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and 215 tackles in six NFL seasons.
Upshaw originally entered the league as a linebacker and played there for the Ravens while helping them win the Super Bowl in 2013. He signed with Atlanta in 2016, moved to the defensive line and played in the Super Bowl with the Falcons that season.
To make room on the roster Thursday, the Jets waived defensive lineman Chris Jones, who was signed June 5. He has also spent time with Tampa Bay, New England, Miami and San Francisco during his fiveyear career.
Cardinals
Arizona signed punter Andy Lee to a two-year contract extension through 2020.
Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed Thursday.
The 35-year-old Lee, who punted in college for Pitt, averaged 47.3 yards last season, his first with Arizona, to break the franchise record and finish seventh in the NFL.
Lee has a 46.4-yard average in 217 games in 14 seasons with San Francisco, Cleveland, Carolina and Arizona.
He’s a three-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection.