What if the Detroit Lions welcomed back a boy named Suh?

Once upon a time Ndamukong Suh was the cornerstone of a very good Detroit Lions defense. Would it be wise to bring him back?

Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn sent former head coach Jim Caldwell packing this past New Years day. The reason? His resolution that three winning seasons out of four with two playoff appearances and no postseason victories under Caldwell wasn’t good enough.

The truth of the matter is that the Caldwell era is actually one of this franchises highest points since the advent of the Bobby Layne curse. However, Quinn, along with new head coach Matt Patricia, are endeavoring to set the bar higher (sorry if that should conjure up a Matt Millen flashback).

That will mean not only pressure on Patricia to establish himself as the coach who bring the Lions back to championship contention, but also Quinn who will need to fill the holes on this roster over the course of the offseason.

The Lions proved that they have two facets of their game that are on par with any other team in the NFL. The first is their passing game. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has blossomed and his receiving talent has as well. Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and the fast rising talents of Kenny Golladay could make them the best receiver trio in the league. Even tight end Eric Ebron made huge strides after he wasn’t traded at the deadline.

The other facet is the Lions secondary. Corner back Darius Slay led the NFL in interceptions and played consistently well all season. Safety Glover Quin was an obvious Pro Bowl snub because he again was one of the best in the league. Then there was the switch of Quandre Diggs from nickel back to safety late in the season.

Diggs exploded on the scene and created havoc for opposing offenses immediately. Bob Quinn will need to find another corner back (perhaps Malcolm Butler?) to complete the starting unit, but it is a very good one already.

This leaves the need to fix the offensive line, find a feature back to carry the ground game workload and improving the defensive front seven.

At this time it is expected that the Lions will prioritize getting an edge rusher on defense and a running back for their offense in the draft. That still leaves needs on the offensive line, defensive tackle and linebacker. Areas that could be also be addressed in the draft or even free agency.

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One of the names that is being linked to the Lions improvement on the defensive line is their own former all-pro, Ndamukong Suh.

The talk in Miami is that the Dolphins are considering parting ways with their high priced defensive tackle that they signed away from Detroit in free agency back in 2015. It is unlikely they will find a taker for his contract, so they may have to bite the bullet and release him if they wish to part ways.

If that were the case, would it make sense for the Lions to try to bring him back? I think the answer is completely obvious; no.

Bringing back Suh would not only create an awkward situation, but we need to consider that he wouldn’t come back to Detroit cheaply. Even at the age of 31.

Remember that despite the huge contract that lured Suh away, he has not lived up to it. Whether you want to say it was the system or just an erosion of talent, Suh isn’t worth building a defense around. Not at the money he’d ask for to come back.

It’s also been rumored by Bleeding Green Nation in Philadelphia, that he would be willing to join the world champion Eagles for free. I’m not sure I completely believe that he would be willing to go there for free, but he probably wouldn’t mind being re-united with his former head coach in Detroit, Jim Schwartz, who runs the Eagle defense.

In other words, he isn’t interested in a reunion anyways nor should the Lions be.

There are other player available that make more sense either from a financial or talent standpoint and I would suspect that Lions general manager Bob Quinn is exploring those options.

They could most likely re-sign defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to a fairly reasonable contract since he has already stated that he would like to be back in Detroit next season or look at some defensive tackles that are a little younger like Star Lotulelei or Sheldon Richardson, both of whom would bring the flexibility of playing either nose-tackle or sliding over like Ngata did last year and just playing tackle next to A’Shawn Robinson.

Next: Detroit Lions 2018 NFL Draft: 7 round mock

The options are there for the Lions to get better in the middle of their defensive line without making the mistake of bring back a player like Suh who didn’t want to be here a couple of years ago and the Lions certainly don’t need now.