Cardinals’ Terrell Suggs enjoys script, unsure of how he’ll feel in Baltimore

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizonans probably view Terrell Suggs’ return to Baltimore as a homecoming.

The reason they followed his 16-year career with the Ravens was because he’s a Hamilton High School and Arizona State Sun Devil product, of course.

But even to those who followed Suggs’ amateur career, it’s probably weird to watch him rush quarterbacks in Arizona Cardinals red and white and not Baltimore Ravens purple and black.

For fans in Baltimore, the return of the Ravens’ franchise leader in sacks and games played — for the team’s 2019 home opener no less — probably means a bit more.

Suggs himself can’t predict the emotions that might come on Sunday in his 125th career game at M&T Bank Stadium.

“I think we’re all clear that for three hours come Sunday, I am their opponent, they are my opponent,” Suggs said Friday, then borrowing from a scene in the movie Bridge of Spies. “They gonna try to win, and I’m gonna try to win. And after the game we’ll see if I’m showed the backseat or embraced like a brother. We’ll see.”

That being said, Suggs can’t and isn’t ducking his past.

He’s aware of the narrative surrounding his return. When the Cardinals’ schedule came out, it was impossible not to see that he was playing in Baltimore the second week of the season.

“And then I saw that they were going to be at Miami the week before,” he said. “Home opener? The NFL, they really are clever.

“It’s a good storyline, it’s fun. We’re going to see what it is. We’re going to see what happens.”

Suggs entered free agency this past offseason knowing that if he were to leave the only NFL team he’s known, the one that selected him 10th overall in 2013, it wouldn’t be for any other team than the Cardinals.

Turns out, they needed him too.

Arizona was searching for an outside linebacker opposite Chandler Jones as it filled out personnel needs for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s 3-4 defense. The Cardinals signed Suggs to a one-year deal.

Arizona has gotten more than an another warm-weather fan on a pre-retirement farewell tour.

Suggs has brought some of the same “little kid” energy that receiver Larry Fitzgerald has injected into the Arizona locker room over the past 15-plus years, according to Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

“It never gets dull to them, and that’s a unique spirit to have,” Kingsbury said.

“It’s every day. (Suggs) brings juice. He wants to interact with his teammates and the young guys and help them get better. I remember walking into the first team meeting and he’s got notes out. You got a guy coming from college to coach the NFL, and he’s been in it for 16 years and he’s taking notes on everything I’m saying. He just does everything right.”

So far, the on-the-field product is as-advertised, too.

The 36-year-old produced during his debut wearing red and white, making five tackles with two sacks and a forced fumble against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

After Week 1, Suggs stepped even more into the spotlight. He saw his Ravens past literally staring right back at him as the Cardinals began scouting Baltimore.

“It’s really crazy looking at Ravens film,” Suggs said. “Like, all those games, I was a part of all those games we watched. So I know all the craziness that was going on on the sidelines.

“That was kind of weird, but like I said, that was fun, too. I’m taking it all in.”

Suggs may not know what to expect when he arrives at a familiar place preparing to beat an opposing team of familiar faces.

As much as everyone involved attempts to focus on the task at hand, nobody can deny that this is more than another game.

“I know this is a big game for him,” Fitzgerald said. “We want to go out there and play hard for him.”

Array

Follow @kzimmermanaz