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Throwback Thursday: Terrell Suggs has monster rookie year in 2003

By Chris Schisler

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 24: Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after making a tackle against the Cleveland Browns during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on December 24, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 24: Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates after making a tackle against the Cleveland Browns during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on December 24, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Throwback Thursday: Terrell Suggs was one of the best defensive rookies of his generation:

Terrell Suggs wants to keep playing football, the only question is whether or not he will be doing it as a member of the Ravens. With that in mind, this Throwback Thursday has me being sentimental. Let’s take a look back at the rookie year of Terrell Suggs.

With the 10th pick in the 2003 NFL Draft the Baltimore Ravens selected Suggs and it’s safe to say that it was a wise decision. It didn’t take long for Suggs to show that he was going to be a special player. Suggs made an instant impact having 12 sacks and an interception in the 2003 season. In his first four games, the player you now know as “T-Sizzle from Ball So Hard University” had a sack.

Suggs has been doing this so long that his first sack, which was against the Pittsburgh Steelers, came a year before Ben Roethlisberger was even in the NFL. Suggs joined the Ravens three years after they won a Super Bowl with one of the all time great defenses. A chunk of those great defensive players were drafted by the Ravens. The expectations for defensive players in Baltimore were brutally high and Suggs met the standard.

The Ravens already had one of the best outside linebackers in the NFL with Peter Boulware. Boulware and Suggs became an epic combination. Boulware in 2003 was at a point in his career that matches where Suggs is in 2019. Boulware was the veteran leader who was still putting up respectable numbers, while Suggs was the flashy new rookie who led the team in sacks.

Suggs would go on to have seven seasons with 10 or more sacks. He is now one of the most accomplished players ever to rush the quarterback, with 132.5 career sacks. He’s become a battle tested warrior and he’s mastered the nuances of his craft. Back in 2003, he was so explosive he didn’t need to be all that refined. A young Suggs was so fast off the ball, that he was borderline unstoppable.

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It would look wrong to see Suggs in another uniform but it is a possibility. That’s why it is a good time to look back at the glories of the past and celebrate an amazing 16 seasons Suggs has had with the purple and black.

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