OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Uncertainty has surrounded Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs since he suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in the 2015 opener, but Ozzie Newsome brought clarity on Thursday.
The general manager said he’s had numerous conversations with the six-time Pro Bowl selection and expects him to return for his 14th season. Suggs will be attempting to come back from his second Achilles injury — one to each heel — in less than four years.
“In my last conversation with him, his answer to me was, ‘I don’t want to leave the game the way I left it out in Denver,'” Newsome said. “I think he is using that as motivation. He’s had that injury before, so he knows what it takes to get back. I’m just looking forward to him getting back in here when he does, being involved in the [organized team activities], going through training camp, and just seeing where he is.”
While coaches, teammates, and fans tried to respond to his loss with the “next man up” mantra at the time of the injury, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said he found new appreciation for Suggs over the course of the 2015 season. In his absence, outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil had to step into an every-down role after defensive coordinator Dean Pees was previously able to maximize his pass-rush ability as a platoon player with Courtney Upshaw. The injury also increased the workload of rookie Za’Darius Smith, who was drafted in the fourth round to replace situational rusher Pernell McPhee.
The trickle-down effect of the Suggs injury extended beyond the pass rush, according to the Baltimore owner.
“You start to create pressure, you start blitzing linebackers and then you get exposed in the underneath routes and they take advantage of that and it makes our linebackers look bad,” Bisciotti said. “Then, the corners and the safeties have to hold on a second longer, and they get exposed. It was the biggest domino effect of losing one guy.
“If anybody in this league said, ‘If we lost Joe Flacco in Week 1, where would we be?’ We’d say, ‘Not good.’ If you had said, ‘What one guy can’t you afford to lose on defense?’ I think most of you would have said Suggs.”
The loss of Suggs had a sizable impact on the defense, but it’s also concerning that the unit was so dependent on a 13th-year linebacker who turned 33 in October. The Ravens cannot afford to lean so heavily on the veteran again as he will be another year older and coming off a major injury.
For that reason, adding a high-impact pass rusher could be Baltimore’s biggest priority this offseason. After collecting 49 sacks in 2014, the Ravens managed just 37 this season with Dumervil’s total dropping from a franchise-record 17 to only six.
“Pass rush is really important,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “You lose Terrell Suggs, you lose Pernell McPhee, [and] you try to replace them, move guys into those spots, and you work with them. Elvis Dumervil, I’ll tell you what, he was bringing it week in and week out. But he was getting a lot of attention, too. That made it a little bit tougher for him.”
