Super Bowl LV champion expresses desire to “return home,” sign a one-day contract to retire in Tampa Bay colors at age 39
Foxborough, Florida – After a long and grueling journey in the NFL, Ndamukong Suh is turning his gaze toward the place that holds the greatest meaning in his career. At age 39, the legendary former defensive tackle has expressed a desire to sign a one-day contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to officially retire in the colors that carried him to the pinnacle. This is not a sentimental decision, but a deliberate closing — the right place, the right time.
Suh spent three consecutive seasons with the Buccaneers from 2019 to 2021 — the longest stretch he remained with a single team since his time in Detroit. In a career defined by movement and pressure, Tampa Bay became a rare point of stability. It was a place where Suh was not just a player, but a quiet leader in the locker room, bringing steel and edge to a defensive unit that was steadily approaching a championship peak.
The 2020 season became the defining marker of Suh’s legacy in Tampa. In Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs, he was a crucial piece of the Bucs’ defense: consistently collapsing the pocket, disrupting the run game, and forcing the opponent into discomfort. Suh’s presence in the interior allowed Tampa Bay to completely control the trenches, contributing to a historic shutdown that left Patrick Mahomes with no room to breathe.
“Tampa is where I won in the most complete way. If my career has to end, I want it to end in the place that gave me my only ring — the place where I was truly myself within a team,” Suh said. That ring remains the only Super Bowl title of his career, and it is the reason the Buccaneers hold a special place above every other stop in his nearly two-decade journey.
For the Buccaneers, a one-day contract would be more than ceremony. It would be a tribute to a player who helped deliver total domination in Super Bowl LV, and a fitting ending for a defensive warrior. For Suh, “returning home” is not about playing one more snap, but about placing a clean period at the end of the story — where glory was once written, and where his legacy remains intact.
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