Ndamukong Suh never had much interest in spending the 2021 season anywhere other than Tampa Bay.

Suh signed another one-year deal to remain with the Buccaneers in their quest for a repeat. He said Monday it was his “ultimate goal” to stay with the same group that captured the Lombardi Trophy in 2020:

“At the end of the day, I wanted to have an opportunity to come back with a group of guys who have an opportunity to potentially go back and earn another ring,” Suh said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “The thing about it is when you look at what we've been able to accomplish last year and then also the ability of, all the bad things that we went through and that we had encountered in ourselves, imagine us cleaning that up even more, then adding depth to our particular team with the draft — obviously, Mr. Licht is going to do some amazing stuff as he's done throughout free agency in finding guys to fill in particular voids with more depth — I think the sky's the limit for us.”

By adding Suh to the mix, the Buccaneers will return all 22 starters from last year's championship roster. It is not unlike the retention strategy exhibited by the Kansas City Chiefs last offseason.

Suh had arguably his best individual season since he last made the Pro Bowl as a member of the Miami Dolphins in 2016. He had 6.0 sacks and 19 quarterback hits in addition to nine tackles for a loss.

The 34-year-old was especially disruptive in the Super Bowl. With Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul collapsing the pocket off the edge, Suh finished the game with 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss.

That pass-rushing group will be back for another spin in 2021, and the return of both Suh and Lavonte David also strengthens Tampa Bay's run defense in between the tackles.

It was a no-brainer for Suh to have a shot at another Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers, even if it meant taking a one-year deal for a third straight season.