Former Arizona State star Terrell Suggs made an official visit to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday but did not meet with Phoenix police concerning a brawl he was involved in Saturday afternoon.
Meeting with reporters after his visit with the Cardinals, Suggs declined to comment on the specifics of the incident at his lawyer’s request.
He did say he didn’t fear the fight would have an adverse effect on his status for the NFL draft later this month.
“Anybody who knows me knows that’s not me,” said Suggs, who is rated a top-10 pick in the draft. “It’s not like I have a history of stuff like that. And they know I can play football and they know I’m not a troublemaker or a head case. It didn’t hurt me.”
The Cardinals own the No. 6 pick in the draft and are desperate for a pass rusher of Suggs’ caliber. The assumption was Suggs would be taken before Arizona's selection, going either No. 3 to Houston or No. 4 to Chicago.
Those predictions were dented last week when Suggs ran slow 40-yard dash times in his workout for NFL scouts, with most clocks putting his two attempts around 4.8 and 4.9 seconds. Then came reports of the Saturday brawl.
Cardinals vice president of football operations Rod Graves termed Suggs’ visit Monday — set up well before Suggs’ problems of the past few days — as “great.” Graves also said the Cardinals still view Suggs as a “great football player” despite the less-than-impressive workout.
As for the Cards’ concerns about the fight, “We will wait and monitor the situation and see if there is a reason for a red flag,” Graves said. “But we . . . will make those decisions later.”
Suggs will run again for NFL scouts later this month, around April 17 or 18, he said. He said he was confident he could run a 4.6 in the 40.
“I am not a track guy. I am a football player,” Suggs said. “I just had a bad day on one of my important days. That pretty much sums it up.”
Suggs also reiterated that he doesn’t care where he is drafted, although the chance to play in Arizona excites him. “What’s better than playing in the same stadium where you played your college career, and I also played high school here,” said Suggs, a Hamilton High product. “I love Arizona; I don’t really want to leave. I think I could fit perfect in the Cardinals’ scheme of things.”
Gary Wichard, Suggs' Los Angeles-based agent, said Suggs would meet with Phoenix police later in the week. The agent said if an attorney doesn't accompany Suggs to the meeting, he would.
Suggs said he was waiting for Wichard to come to the Valley to meet with police.
Wichard had said Sunday that Suggs would meet with police on Monday. But the detective investigating the fight postponed the meeting.
"There were things going on. There was no urgency," Wichard said.
The meeting is scheduled to take place either Wednesday or Thursday, Wichard said.
Phoenix police have spoken with several witnesses, including the individual who scuffled with Suggs.
Wichard maintains Suggs defended himself after being struck in the back of the head with a steel rod.
Photographs obtained by ABC-TV (Ch. 15) show a bloody altercation involving at least five people in a parking lot. One person is holding a steel rod and another is holding what appears to be a baseball bat.
Suggs, who was treated at a hospital emergency room after the altercation, went to pick up a cousin who was participating in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, where the fight occurred in the early afternoon.
