Lewand: Salary cap issues not to blame for Suh leaving

PHOENIX – The Detroit Lions inflated Ndamukong Suh's salary cap number by twice restructuring his rookie contract, which tied the team's hands when they had the opportunity to use the franchise tag on the NFL's best defensive tackle earlier this month.

But Lions president Tom Lewand defended his cap management at the owners meetings today and said the team's tight cap situation had nothing to do with Suh's departure in free agency.

"We put ourselves in a position where we made an offer to make him the highest paid defensive player in the league – the highest paid defensive player in the league – and I think that was a substantial commitment by the organization," Lewand told beat reporters at the Arizona Biltmore. "It was something that we were prepared to do under the salary cap. I think it was reflective of everything that we said publicly and privately, and the kind of commitment that we were willing to make to him is something that we don't shy away from. I think he quite simply made a decision to go somewhere else based on his evaluation of the circumstances and that was his choice."

Suh signed a six-year, $114-million contract with the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago that made him the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

The Lions offered a six-year, $102-million deal after free agency started, but it came with less guaranteed money and a less favorable structure than the contract Suh eventually signed in Miami.

Lewand declined to discuss specifics of the team's offer, but he disputed the fact that their best offer came late in negotiations.

General manager Martin Mayhew said Monday the $102-million offer "was right around the time it started."

"There are a lot of things that occurred during the process, a lot of information that came my way or our way and a lot of information that didn't come our way that is very germane to what happened in the transaction," Lewand said. "And it's not fair to the process, it's not fair to Ndamukong or his representatives to begin to talk about those specifics."

The Lions had an opportunity to keep Suh out of free agency, but declined to use the franchise tag in early March at a one-year cost of $26.9 million.

Had they not converted the bulk of Suh's base salary to a signing bonus to help sign free agents in 2012 and 2013, Suh's tag number would have been a more manageable $19.4 million.

"When we made the decisions to do those thing, we went into it completely understanding what the implications were when we do things," Lewand said. "We look at the planning process, we look at what the benefits and the drawbacks of the franchise tag would be.

"I don't know that those dynamics are different whether you are dealing with $19 million or $26 million in terms of some of those dynamics."

Since 2012, when Calvin Johnson signed a massive seven-year extension at the start of free agency, the Lions have juggled a top-heavy salary cap with three big contracts in Johnson, Suh and quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Stafford got an extension in the summer of 2013, and Lewand said the Lions were willing to continue carrying three big salaries in the future, but only up to a certain point.

"There's always limitations," Lewand said. "And we were comfortable (with a third big salary on the books). We were comfortable making him a proposal that would have made him the highest paid defensive player in the league, together with a well-compensated quarterback and a well-compensated Hall-of-Fame receiver. So we were prepared to move forward on that basis ,and I think we acquitted ourselves very well in making an offer that was extremely substantial and that would have allowed him to continue to be a part of the team and he again chose another option that he had in front of him."

In February, when the Lions sent out renewals raising season-ticket prices, they included a letter from Lewand that read in part, "In addition to our commitment to keeping our best players, we look forward to adding to an already talented, tough and resilient group."

Lewand disputed a suggestion today that the team created the impression it was raising prices in part to re-sign Suh.

"I think by making an offer to make him the highest paid defensive player in the league, we made a heck of a commitment," he said.

And he said the organization is ready to move forward without Suh and looking forward to improving on last year's 11-5 season.

"We don't engage in a process of continuing to look backwards when it pays to look forward," Lewand said. "We're not going to drive a car looking out the back window. We're going to drive it looking out the windshield moving forward and feel very excited about that. There is nothing that diminishes our enthusiasm for where we're headed as a football team."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.