Ndamukong Suh to Use Pro Bowl As Recruitment Trip for Lions, but Will it Work?

Ndamukong Suh doesn't need to do any more to win over the hearts of Detroit sports fans.

He was a highly-touted draft prospect, and everyone chomped at the bit to get him. Detroit ended up picking him second overall, and he rewarded the Lions by, among other things, posting the most sacks (10) of any Lions defender since James Hall in 2004 (11.5).

Now it appears he was playing part of the season with an injured shoulder, which should make the linemen who faced him this season shake their heads in disbelief.

The good news is that the surgery was minor and successful, and Suh will be back next season at full strength.

The bad news is he can't play in the Pro Bowl, despite leading all defensive tackles in votes.

As much as Suh would like to play, and as much as I'd like to watch him, Suh's Pro Bowl excursion amounts to just a free trip to Hawaii (poor thing).

For most, that would be that. Take the free vacation, hang out at the game, relax.

Not for Suh.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Suh is planning to use his Pro Bowl experience to talk to players—particularly those with expiring contracts—about his experience in Detroit, in an attempt to lure them towards Detroit in free agency.

The most obvious name on that list is Nnamdi Asomugha, the Oakland cornerback that Detroit (as well as every team in football) is expected to take a run at. However, Atlanta CB Brent Grimes, Baltimore DT Haloti Ngata, Atlanta T Tyson Clabo and Houston RB Arian Foster are among others participating in the Pro Bowl, but currently not signed for next season.

What are the odds of any of those players actually coming to Detroit? Will Suh's pitch make a difference to any of them?

Honestly, it's unlikely.

Detroit, as a city, isn't the most appealing destination for people coming from Georgia or southern California. As a team, the Lions are up-and-coming, but not there yet.

Most important of all, these players are all going to demand money that Detroit doesn't have. The problem with a Pro Bowler hitting the open market is that there is a huge portion of that market vying for their services.

That means preference goes to two things: Championship capability and cash. If you're the Patriots, Steelers or Colts, you can lure people in with the promise of playing on a team of All-Pros and heading to the playoffs.

Otherwise, you pay that man, and you pay him a lot.

Even for a Detroit team that has "cornerbacks" on its list of priorities a slot above "air," signing one fresh off a Pro Bowl season is financial suicide. This is, after all, a team still paying three drafts picks from the top two slots in their respective drafts, one of which is Suh himself.

Signing a Pro Bowl player is a move for a team like the Jets, who believe they only need another piece or two to make a Super Bowl run.

The Lions' role in free agency will be to sign guys off the second tier in search of consistent starters and depth, and hope they strike gold with one. That's what they did last year, and the signings of Kyle Vanden Bosch and Nate Burleson ended up overwhelmingly positive.

In other words, yes, I'm saying Suh's recruitment trip to Hawaii is going to ultimately be fruitless,  because somebody is going to offer Asomugha (or any of those other guys, if their teams don't re-sign them) about $90 million, and the Lions would be crazy to match it.

But still, I'm ecstatic about the sentiment, because it means Suh is happy with his situation in Detroit.

We worry about Calvin Johnson's happiness in Detroit, mostly because of all the losing. He has two years left on his rookie contract, and the consensus is that the Lions need to become a contender within those two years, or risk losing him to the open market.

In a few years, they might have the same anxiety over Suh's future. But for now, he's more concerned with bringing people in than leaving himself.

And that's yet another step in the right direction for a Detroit Lions team that appears to be in a full sprint down the right track.