Teammates highly upset with Ndamukong Suh
The Miami Dolphins first day of voluntary workouts began on Tuesday. The most notable absentee was star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and his teammates are not happy about it.
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It’s been well known, long before the Dolphins signed Ndamukong Suh to a massive six-year, $114 million contract that Suh had a reputation for missing workouts. He was notorious for it in his days with Detroit. In 2015 with Miami, Suh started out by attending the workouts but shortly reverted back to his old ways.
Miami’s first day of voluntary workouts in 2016 kicked off Tuesday and Suh was nowhere in sight. His Dolphin teammates were none too pleased with Suh’s no-show. Some believe that it is a recurring problem dating back to last season and that Suh has the luxury to do what he wants.
The argument could be made that the workouts are voluntary and in this case it’s not that big a deal when it’s only April. However, a high school player could tell you to take that word with a grain of salt because coaches expect for their players to show up. Suh’s teammates believe that it is his responsibility as a leader to show up to their workouts, whether they are mandatory or not.
Now Suh was not the only notable player to miss Tuesday’s workout. Safety Reshad Jones missed because of a contract holdout. Linebacker Koa Misi sat out due to an illness and newly acquired defensive end Mario Williams was missing in action while he deals with a personal issue. However, Suh is held to a higher standard by his teammates and the coaching staff.
As the highest-paid player on the team, Suh is expected to be a natural leader for Miami. Within the next couple of weeks, the Dolphins will bring in their new group of rookies and the veterans feel that Suh needs to lead by example. In fairness to Suh, he’s not exactly kicking back and collecting his millions doing nothing. Evidently, Suh spends a lot of his time working out on the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon.
No one is denying Suh’s work ethic but Dolphins players don’t think he can be a leader from the other side of the country. Ironically, none of the Dolphins players seem to be upset with Jones for holding out on a new contract. Jones is less than two years removed from signing a four-year, $28 million deal that’s set to expire at the end of next season. Jones is looking for a deal that would pay him roughly $10-$11 million annually.
Dolphins coach Adam Gase says that he is not going to get upset about either player missing at the moment. He expects his players to report shortly and only envisions an issue with Jones if his holdout goes into June. At the moment, he knows where everyone is and that’s what’s important.
Gase downplayed the matter for the moment as he should. However, do the Dolphins players have a valid point? With a brand new head coach should everyone report right away to workouts even if they are just voluntary as a sign of leadership? Or do the Dolphins players need to take a page out of Aaron Rodger’s therapy sessions and just relax?