Terrell Suggs: Did Injury Hurt His Chances for Hall of Fame?
Terrell Suggs is a once in a lifetime player. He’s the kind of player that deserves to be enshrined forever in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? But will he have the resume needed for this honor?
106.5 sacks. That is a more than impressive total that Terrell Suggs has racked up. Suggs sits 24th on the all time sack list. If Suggs can keep climbing that list he can improve his chances of being a Hall of Famer. Suggs lost a season of scaling this list.
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With his football mortality looking him squarely in the face, you have to wonder if the 33 year old linebacker saw his chances at the Hall of Fame lowered last season. He lost an entire season to an injury in week one.
Suggs averages around eight sacks per season. If he hadn’t been hurt last season an average season would have moved him up three spots on this list. If he had put up these eight sacks last season, another eight would have gotten him to the 17th spot on the all time sacks list, this season.
10 of the top 17 players on the all time sacks list are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For an outside linebacker, that is the target area for Hall of Fame credentials. Not reaching this target doesn’t mean Suggs can’t sizzle his way to Canton. It just makes the argument tougher.
There is more to Suggs than just pass rushing though. Suggs is an all around linebacker who is strong against the run. He can also be a weapon for the defense in pass coverage. The sack totals are the most important aspect of case for enshrinement. However, they are not the entire argument.
Another argument for number 55 is that he has played for only one team. It’s so rare that an all-time great player stays with one team. Ray Lewis did it, but even Ed Reed played for another team. Suggs has been a cornerstone for the Ravens.
Suggs has forced 27 fumbles and has seven interceptions. The great linebacker has scored two defensive touchdowns and a safety. He was the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year. He was the defensive rookie of the year in 2003, and he has been to six Pro Bowls. This is clearly one of the most notable players in NFL history.
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Suggs is a character that no author could have penned. He has so much charisma. Suggs is incredibly playful and likes to done the role of the bad guy. The dominant linebacker strikes fear into his opponents. Suggs is one of a kind and that is his biggest claim to Canton glory.
When his career is over, he will likely be on the statistical border of Hall of Fame induction. Let’s just hope the Hall of Fame voters see the special player that we’ve enjoyed watching for the past 13 seasons.