Free agent defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh has spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning a Super Bowl with the team in 2020 while helping them to build one of the better defenses in the league. However, Suh's 2022 return is unlikely after the latest move made by the Buccaneers. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the team has agreed to sign former Chicago Bears star Akiem Hicks.
Akiem Hicks now joins a stacked Bucs’ defensive front that includes Vita Vea and second-round pick Logan Hall. And Hicks addition means free-agent Ndamukong Suh’s time in Tampa figures to be over. https://t.co/JoMTNE62DX
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 31, 2022
Per Schefter, the Buccaneers have signed Hicks to a one-year contract worth up to $10 million. Hicks, who made the Pro Bowl in 2018 as a member of the Bears, will slot in as yet another capable interior lineman behind Vita Vea and second round pick Logan Hall.
Hicks, 32, only appeared in nine games for the Buccaneers this past season, as he was limited by a nagging ankle injury. However, he still graded out well by Pro Football Focus, which awarded him with a solid, 72.3 overall mark.
Tampa Bay's already-stout run defense will be downright impenetrable in 2022.
The move all but spells the end of Ndamukong Suh's time in Tampa Bay, as the franchise is paying Hicks roughly what the former would have earned in a new contract. Suh, who has been linked to the Las Vegas Raiders, will have to set his sights elsewhere in 2022.
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