Ndamukong Suh's controversial on-field past and present is the main reason the NFL slapped him with a record-setting $100,000 fine for an unnecessary-roughness penalty he committed during the Detroit Lions' Week 1 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
And that history might cost Suh a game in the future.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday on NFL Network's "NFL GameDay Morning" that the next time Suh commits a personal-foul penalty with a flagrant or egregious component, he likely will be suspended, according to a high-ranking league source.
The Lions defensive lineman has been fined five times for on-field transgressions, including a two-game suspension for his Thanksgiving 2011 stomp of Green Bay Packers guard Evan Dietrich-Smith.
The $100,000 fine for Suh's low block on Vikings center John Sullivan is the largest financial penalty (not counting lost suspension money) for an on-field violation in NFL history.
According to Rapoport, it won't help matters that Suh said this week that he won't change how he plays.
For better or for worse, the spotlight will be on Suh this Sunday and every Sunday the rest of his career. People will be waiting for him to snap and make a questionable play. If he doesn't change, inevitably, we will end up covering a Suh suspension at some point in the future.
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