Lions announce they will not use franchise tag on Ndamukong Suh
The Detroit Lions announced Monday that they will not place the franchise tag on defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, according to Tim Twentyman.
Monday at 4 p.m. marks the deadline for teams to use the franchise tag on their pending free agent players.
Suh would have made $26.9 million in 2015 with a franchise tag. Detroit would have been forced to clear at least $10 million of cap space to make room for that contract.
Suh picked up 53 tackles and 8.5 sacks for the Lions’ No. 2 ranked defense in 2014. He ended the season by sacking Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo twice in the wildcard round of the playoffs.
The Lions drafted Suh with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft. In five seasons with the team Suh has made 239 tackles and picked up 36 sacks in 78 games. He missed only two games in his career: A 2011 suspension for stomping on a Packers’ lineman in a Thanksgiving Day loss.
Suh has compiled a record of 37-41 in his career, making two brief appearances in the postseason (0-2).
Regardless of whether or not they sign Suh, the Lions’ cap will take a $9,737,500 hit thanks to dead money left over from previous contract reconstructions.
The Lions’ current cap sits at just under $126 million, giving them $17 million to work with (according to the projected $143 million cap for 2015). Calvin Johnson ($20,558,000) and Matthew Stafford ($17,721,250) combine for over 30 percent of the Lions’ cap number.
Detroit now has until March 10 to sign Suh before he becomes a free agent.
Missing Indiana brother and sister found safe
A brother and sister have been found after Indiana police issued an Amber Alert Monday for him and his sister, believing they were in Michigan.
Aaron Blackwell, 16, was found in Detroit.
Early Tuesday morning, officials said his 13-year-old sister, Emma Blackwell was returned to the family’s home in Indiana.
The two had last been seen around 3 a.m. Monday in Indianapolis.
Police said they were abducted at gunpoint by armed suspects.
Detroit police said they have three people in custody in connection to the missing teens.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said the children likely were abducted by an African-American male who goes by the name of “Jay” and is described as being 5 feet 11 inches tall, 250 pounds, with short black hair and brown eyes.
No further information is available for the other people police are calling suspects and there is no vehicle description.
If you have any information on this case, please contact the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at 888-58AMBER or 888-582-6237. You also can call the Detroit police.
More info: AmberAlertMichigan.org
DUI law rewrite makes it tougher on prosecutors
Lawmakers in Lansing update a state law that deals with driving under the influence.
But instead of helping law enforcement crack down on drunk drivers, it’s making the cases tougher to prosecute.
While rewriting the law to include drugged driving, lawmakers left out a key piece of evidence used in drunk driving cases – the roadside sobriety tests.
Those tests help the officer gather visual evidence of an impaired driver.
“We did it for people with drug problems to actually help people with that in terms with sobriety and there may have been a technical issue and if there is we will get it corrected,” Gov. Rick Snyder said.
Milford Police Chief Thomas Lindberg said about the sobriety tests, that “because of this language that was introduced and put into play in mid January, none of those tests are admissible at trial.”
But that doesn’t mean the field sobriety tests are useless.
“That information gathered by officers can be used as probable cause to get a breath, blood or urine sample and those would be admissible,” Lindberg said.
Lindberg said he doesn’t think the oversight will have a major impact on the cases.
“It doesn’t mean any of the cases are going to be thrown out,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they are bad cases, it means the officers have to do good police work and make sure they follow through with their case.”
There will be a fix to the problem according to Snyder.
“We will just run a new law through the legislature correcting any issues or problems and we will put that behind us,” he said.
Lions Announce They Will Not Use Franchise Tag On Ndamukong Suh was originally published on hothiphopdetroit.com
