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Report: Miami Dolphins Have "Real Shot" at Ndamukong Suh

With the Detroit Lions declining to apply the franchise tag to defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the Miami Dolphins have been among the teams named in various reports as a potential landing spot for one of the game's most disruptive, dominant defensive players.

ESPN's Mark Dominik, a former executive and co-worker of Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey, says the team has "a real shot to get him."

"When you're talking about state taxes and you're in Tennessee, Texas or Florida and you've got that up your sleeve, any one of those teams has a real shot," Dominik said.

NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal says Miami "could be in position to make a big splash" and lists them among Suh's top six landing spots.

"We wonder if new Dolphins head honcho Mike Tannenbaum will be as aggressive in Miami as he used to be with the Jets," Rosenthal said. "The Dolphins need to rebuild their interior defensive line."

ESPN's John Clayton also sees the possibility.

The 28-year-old Suh, a four-time First-Team All-Pro, is coming off another productive season, with 8.5 sacks and 13 stuffs. Although Suh has been slapped with over $400,000 in fines for player-safety violations in his career, he's been among the top rated defensive tackles in the league the last few seasons, according to Pro Football Focus.

Suh's DT Ranking
2014 3rd
2013 2nd
2012 4th
Source:PFF

 

With Jared Odrick an impending free agent and Randy Starks beginning to show his age (31) after grading out as PFF's 42nd best defensive tackle last year, the fit would make some sense, especially since the team could opt to cut Mike Wallace and his godzilla salary.

The question is whether the Dolphins will be willing and able to not only shell out the cash necessary to sign one of the best defensive players in the league in his prime, but invest so much in a player who has yet to grasp the concept of sportsmanship.

The Dolphins are only a season removed from Bullygate.

Follow Josh on Twitter (@JoshBaumgard)

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