Windsor: Suh wanted things Lions couldn't give him

DAVIE, Fla. – Ndamukong Suh didn't want to be in Detroit, and likely hadn't for a while. We can say that now for certain.

Whether this changes your view of Lions management — or mismanagement — is up to you. But know now, know after what Suh said here in South Florida on Wednesday, that, for once, it wasn't about the money.

Not completely.

It was about the Lions, and perhaps Detroit, and a franchise that was never going to give him the top slot on its masthead, or give him the chance to outrun his moody past. In that sense, the Lions were never really in the game, even as Suh insisted he did have meaningful conversations.

That, of course, depends on what you mean by "meaningful." Perhaps the better word is obligatory, because, in the end, Suh knew what he really wanted were things the Lions couldn't give him.

And so, on a balmy late afternoon in a suburb north of Miami, the Dolphins trotted out their splashiest free-agent signing ever. They are offering him a fresh start here, and the chance to scrub away the "dirty" label under all this sunshine.

He also gets to be the man, though we'll see how long that lasts. For in this game, the spotlight favors the skill guys.

Until Miami finds its Calvin Johnson or Matthew Stafford, however, the spotlight is all Suh's. He no longer has to share, or watch lesser players get kid-gloved.

That's obviously what he wanted, a franchise to himself, in a city with enough juice to spread his brand. Miami may not be New York or San Francisco, but it's got the sheen Suh sought, a glassy metropolis capable of reflecting his greatness far and wide, a platform to lay a foundation for his post-playing days.

Watching him sit front and center in the team's auditorium at its Davie training complex late Wednesday afternoon, flanked by billionaire owner Stephen Ross and Dolphins general manager Dennis Hickey, flashing his broadest smile in years, you see him feeling his destiny.

Where that leads is hard to gauge. He joins a team mired in a six-year playoff drought that finished 8-8 last season. To that middling stew Suh joins.

"I can't do this by myself," he acknowledged.

But then he's part of a "progressive" group now, a word he used often Wednesday, a word, it should be noted, never used to describe his former team. His new employer is led by Ross, a U-M alum who also made the choice to leave Michigan.

"I (told Suh) I hope it's as worthwhile for you as it was for me," Ross joked.

The Detroit-area native left the state for a lot less money than he will be paying Suh, of course. Yet the truth is his offer wasn't much different than the Lions' offer.

"I wouldn't say money was the most important factor," Suh admitted.

No, leaving Detroit was.

From there, it was a question of who combined cash and cachet and a reasonable chance to compete.

Suh's family made it clear long ago this day might come, and come it did.

In the end, it didn't matter how much the Lions could pay him. He played spectacular football at times in Detroit, and he always played hard. That's all he ever owed the franchise.

Beyond that?

He was never really theirs.

Or ours.

Maybe the Lions' brass didn't believe it. Or maybe they did and were too scared to admit it publicly, fearful that their long-suffering fan base couldn't handle the truth.

Whatever the case, the best defensive player the Lions ever had will be wearing someone else's colors now, with a chance to redefine his image. All it took was the richest defensive contract in history … and a stadium a long way from Detroit.

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.