Hey guys, nothing to worry about with Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh anymore. He's hilarious now!
Get this: According to the Miami Herald, "Suh twice sat in with teammates as they met with the media, videotaping their press availabilities. He even served as Cameron Wake's hype man on Tuesday." (Classic!!!)
Also, he appeared as a straight man to comedian Kevin Hart during a live workout video that he posted to Youtube a few days ago.
Oh, and he also invited some of his teammates over to hang out.
"We all got together and got to know him a little more on a different level," Koa Misi told the Herald. "There's nothing to worry about Suh. He's a great guy, a good football player, and a good leader."
Let's take this information bit by bit, immediately excluding Suh's newfound joy of sitting in on interviews as evidence of a sense of humor. Having been in NFL locker rooms on a near daily basis for five years, I found that doing this mostly annoys the bejesus out of everyone involved (there are exceptions: For example, former Jets defensive tackle Sione Po'uha was a legitimately riveting player-host for Jets TV back in the early 2010s). Reporters chuckle but then hope that they can eventually get their jobs done. Players chuckle, but then realize that this interview will now have to go on longer than it needs to. The Dolphins have had issues with this before, and that player was not funny enough to remain on the club.
As for the Kevin Hart video, the prevailing thought I had while watching this was "Who is that large guy working out with Kevin Hart?" A second thought: Is this a common occurrence?
The only real example of progress we see is the fact that Suh is inviting teammates over. He has garnered a reputation as a recluse over his career and maybe this is his way of mending fences after reportedly telling the team last year in a heated moment that only a few people were good enough to play with him. At the time, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport noted that the locker room was split. Perhaps this was the move of a leader in training who doesn't quite have the experience making fiery speeches yet. Or, it's just the ramblings of a high-priced, self-absorbed superstar.
In a way, that contradiction has defined Suh's career to this point. There are people that truly believe he is wildly misunderstood, and that the version of Suh being written about now is really who he is. The stomping, the ignoring of certain play calls,the other stomping and the inability to project a believable facade are all the product of today's media, they say.
"People have a skewed view of who I am," Suh said in an E:60 profile done of him back in 2015 (which, by the way, paints Suh as a Hulk-esque character in the opening segment). "When people have the opportunity to be unbiased and unfiltered, they'll get to know who I am as a person and who Ndamukong Suh is."
In an effort to be "unbiased and unfiltered," let's see how this New Suh plays out before hurling any more hot takes in his direction. He is, off the field, a player who has been known for his charitable work and a person who has overcome his introverted personality. But really, whether or not the Dolphins still find him funny toward the end of 2016 is all that matters.
