Now with training camp opening Thursday, Suggs stood in front of reporters with a smile and told them they could fire away with questions about his waistline.
Suggs reported to training camp a lot slimmer and passed his conditioning test on the first day.
“I totally feel a lot different from the last time I was up here,” he said. “I can be totally honest with that. I feel great, I’m ready to get out here and work at camp.”
So how much weight did Suggs lose during his time off?
“We shed some – a lot,” he coyly said. “Not quite at the weight, but we’re at good fighting weight. We’re here for camp and we’re going to use this time to shed some more.”
Suggs was asked whether he “aced” his conditioning test.
“I’m not going to say that because I don’t want them to make it harder,” he said with a laugh. “I passed convincingly.”
It’s not the first time Suggs has come to camp a little above his target weight. Yet the veteran outside linebacker continues to put up sparkling seasons.
At 32, Suggs is coming off a season in which he made 61 tackles and 12 sacks. He only posted more sacks than that one other time during his career, when he won Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.
Last time he talked to the media in June, the aging Suggs said he’s taking his career “year by year” and said he’d evaluate how he felt about retirement after the season. As training camp is set to kick off, his mentality hasn’t changed.
“Just enjoy playing football,” he said. “That’s pretty much my mindset coming into camp. Enjoy going out there and playing football every day, and have fun with it.”
