Ravens Reach Deal with Suggs

The Ravens have reached a six-year agreement in principle with OLB [Terrell Suggs that will be completed this afternoon once paperwork is finalized.

The agreement was completed late last night.

"Getting a deal done with Terrell is consistent with our history of retaining our best Pro Bowl players, like [Ray Lewis, [Ed Reed, Jonathan Ogden, **Todd Heap** and Jamal Lewis," Ravens general manager and executive vice president **Ozzie Newsome** stated. "Securing Terrell for six seasons gives us a premier pass-rusher whose ability to stop the run does not get enough credit.

"When I think of what Terrell can do for us – the AFC Championship game immediately comes to mind when he sacked Big Ben [Ben Roethlisberger] two times even while playing with an injured shoulder. This will be Suggs' seventh season, and he is still a young player (Suggs will be 26 at the start of the season). Remember, he came to us as a 20-year old rookie after his junior year in college. This is a good day for the Ravens franchise."

The Ravens will have a 2 p.m. conference call with Suggs this afternoon.

According to ESPN, Suggs's contract totals $63 million, with the first $40 million coming over the next two seasons. That will include extra bonuses totaling $33.1 million in 2009 and 2010. That is second in the NFL behind only Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who received a $34 million signing bonus after signing his new contract in 2004.  

The deal is also comparable to the one Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney signed in 2007. Freeney agreed to a six-year, $72 million contract that included $ 31.5 million in bonuses the first two years of the deal.

"I am glad it is over, and now we can get back to football," said Suggs. "Getting this done took compromises on both ends. I wanted to stay in purple and black, the Ravens wanted to keep me in purple in black, and they stepped up and showed me that. This means a lot to me and my family. Now I can be a Raven for the better part of my career.

"I am so happy to get back to work with my teammates. Being there with the team and being able to see our great fans, who have always supported us, is exciting. I can't wait to play in front of them again."

A three-time Pro Bowler (2004, 2006 and 2008), Suggs is considered one of the NFL's top all-around defenders. Having posted 53 career sacks – the second most in Ravens franchise history to Peter Boulware's 70 – Suggs led Baltimore with eight quarterback drops in 2008. He also finished third on the team with a career-high 102 tackles as part of the Ravens' second-ranked defense.

Suggs has totaled 474 tackles (315 solo) during his career. Additionally, he has produced five interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns last season.

The 2003 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Suggs ranks No. 1 in team history with 19 forced fumbles and is second with 10 fumble recoveries. Since entering the NFL, his 53 sacks tie for sixth most among all players. He has registered 10 multiple-sack games during his career (the Ravens are undefeated in those contests), while Baltimore also boasts a 34-11 record when he has at least one sack in a game.

"This is such good news. I was already excited to start training camp, and now having Terrell there makes it that much better," stated Ravens head coach **John Harbaugh**. "He is a great player, a tremendous person and an outstanding young leader. You guys know that he energizes our practices. He brings that vitality to the game, and he makes the locker room fun. He's a foundation for our defense to stay at the highest level. Having him in training camp will take him to higher levels."