It has widely been anticipated that the Bucs would eventually retain DT Ndamukong Suh if the veteran wished to keep playing after the 2020 season. So it was no surprise when ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported Tuesday morning that the Bucs have engaged in talks to re-sign Suh for his third season with the Bucs.

The 2021 season would be Suh’s 12th in the NFL, playing for four different franchises in that span. He’s won his only ring in Tampa Bay and was critical to the team’s success last season, stepping up when star nose tackle Vita Vea went down with a broken ankle in Week 5. Suh, 34, posted six sacks and 29 pressures to go with nine tackles-for-loss, consistently dominating against the run and doing enough as a pass rusher to make a difference.

Perhaps most impressively, Suh has never missed an NFL game due to injury, and hasn’t missed one at all since 2011. The workload he’s shouldered has been unbelievable, as he’s played 74 percent or more of his team’s defensive snaps in every season, and 82 percent or more in seven of the nine campaigns with recorded snap counts. Suh’s work ethic and physicality have been critical additions to the Bucs defensive lineup since the 5-time Pro Bowler arrived in free agency in 2019. Keeping him around for another run at a title in 2021 would be tremendous news for a Bucs defensive line without a ton of depth on the interior.