Terrell Suggs perfect fit for Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl run

The Kansas City Chiefs claimed Terrell Suggs off waivers and he’s a great fit for this defense as they make a push toward the Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs are hurting at defensive end. So far this year they have lost Breeland Speaks, Emmanuel Ogbah, and most recently, Alex Okafor. Okafor tore his pec against the Broncos, leaving a rejuvenated Chiefs defense once again thin in their pass rush.

Ogbah and Okafor both finished the season with five sacks, and their production won’t easily be replaced. That is why when news broke that the Arizona Cardinals had released veteran pass rusher Terrell Suggs, many fans of the team wanted the Chiefs to take a look.

Claiming Suggs off of waivers seemed like a no-brainer for the Chiefs. He is due less than $500,000 for the rest of the season and playoffs, and the need for an experienced pass rusher was there even before the Okafor injury.

The prospect of claiming Suggs took a little bit of a hit, however, when it was reported that Suggs was trying to go back home to Baltimore, and he would consider not reporting for any other team that claimed him. This could be a blessing in disguise, as it may have discouraged a few fringe playoff teams from making a claim on Suggs.

Now that the Chiefs have officially claimed him, it appears Suggs will report to the team after all.

This is great news for a team that has reshaped their defensive identity by adding veteran players like Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark, who also happen to be very vocal leaders.

The Chiefs defense has found some swagger in recent weeks. They are flying around, and playing with a lot of passion. That comes directly from a culture overhaul that brought in eight new defensive starters to the team.

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Suggs fits the bill as a tough as nails, vocal leader who has championship experience. How exactly does he fit in with the defense though? Many question just how much a 37 year old pass rusher can have left in the tank. The answer, however, is more than enough to contribute to a contender like the Chiefs.

Terrell Suggs has had a solid season thus far. He has recorded 37 tackles, eight tackles for loss, forced four fumbles, and tallied five and a half sacks to go with seven quarterback hits. Even more surprising, Suggs has started every game for the Cardinals and leads the team in snaps taken at linebacker, having played just over 69% of all defensive snaps.

That seems to point to the fact that Suggs has more than enough in the tank to handle a full game workload. That is something the Chiefs may not even need from him, either.

It has been established that the Kansas City Chiefs are short on defensive ends with Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah on IR. Suggs is technically an outside linebacker, but he will play end for the Chiefs.

Outside of Suggs, the Chiefs have Frank Clark and Tanoh Kpassagnon to play at defensive end on a consistent basis. Chris Jones has also shown he can be dominant on the outside as well when he is needed. This makes the Chiefs flexible along the defensive.

When they want to spell Suggs on the outside, they can roll with Clark and Jones at end, and Khalen Saunders and Derrick Nnadi in the middle. If Clark or Jones need a break, they can rotate Suggs in, insuring the Chiefs always have two of their best pass rushers on the field at all times.

Suggs has also been shown to be solid in the run game as well. This is good news for a Chiefs defense that can still be a little susceptible to opposing ground attacks.

Going forward, I see the Chiefs limiting Suggs slightly more than the Cardinals did. I would be comfortable with Suggs seeing 50-60% of snaps in order to keep him fresher, with most of his time coming in crunch time in the second half of games.

Dropping his snaps just 10% could help the veteran a ton, as NFL seasons are long and can take a larger toll on veteran players. It also helps that Suggs gets to play on a top five pass defense next to All-Pro caliber rushers in Clark and Jones. That should give Suggs a little more time to get home to the quarterback that he just wasn’t afforded in Arizona.

Outside of an on the field impact, claiming Suggs makes sense in the fact that he was kept away from the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore is gearing up for a Super Bowl run, and it was obvious a reunion between the two was very likely if Suggs went unclaimed on waivers. Suggs also adds championship experience to a Chiefs squad who could use it, as  Kansas City has its own Super Bowl aspirations. Adding Suggs helps the Chiefs in a place of need right now, and stops maybe its biggest competition from getting better. That is a win-win.

If the Chiefs do manage to make a big playoff run, fans will look back at this move being a key reason why. Suggs is no longer his former dominant self that racked up seven Pro Bowl appearances, but he doesn’t have to be. He fills a big team need and brings with him the kind of swagger and energy that this defense has been feeding off of as of late.

Look for T-Sizzle to make an impact on the Kansas City Chiefs roster almost right away.