On Monday morning, there were reports surfacing on multiple fronts that Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was freelancing against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Suh was not much of a factor against the Jaguars, who beat the Dolphins on a last-second field goal. Suh, who signed a six-year, $114 million deal, was accused of going off the script, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.
"The Miami Herald has learned that Suh freelanced at times Sunday, creating confusion on the defense. By taking matters into his own hands, the Dolphins’ $114 million man took a bad situation and made it worse."
However, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has been supporting Suh since the report came out. Philbin talked about the matter on Monday to local reporters, stating that he does not believe the report to have merit, per James Walker of ESPN.
"“There was a report that Ndamukong Suh was freelancing out there on the field,” Philbin said during Monday’s press conference. “I just watched the entire tape with the entire defensive staff. I didn’t see anything of the sort. So I’m not sure where that came from.”"
This would be a tough blow to team morale if Suh is truly tuning out defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle. Suh was brought in to be a disruptive force on the interior of the defensive line with Olivier Vernon and Cameron Wake providing pressure off the edge. However, Suh has not been overly impactful thus far.
Regardless of the situation, it has to be concerning to Miami that these stories are already surfacing. Suh should be the model citizen after getting the largest contract for a defensive player in NFL history. Clearly, someone within the organization is upset with the mega star. The Dolphins are expected to be a playoff team in 2015, and if they fall short, there will almost certainly be changes.