Ken Murray of the Baltimore Suns slams Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs for skipping the team's voluntary off-season workouts less than a year after signing a $63 million dollar contract extension.

"This is the guy the Ravens turned into a multi-millionaire last July. Bisciotti awarded Suggs a six-year contract worth $63 million -- $38 million of it guaranteed. The deal made Suggs the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. He immediately rewarded that loyalty with a cheap imitation season of the Pro Bowler he has been. In 2009, Suggs was sluggish and out of shape much of the year, made just 4.5 sacks and for the first time in his career, missed games (three in the regular season).

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One year later, Suggs hasn't shown the Ravens anything, except perhaps that they overpaid to keep him. Indeed, he was a better player before his payday than after it."

Suggs did not participate in the team's off-season programs in 2008 or 2009 when he franchise tagged, but did show up for the team's mandatory mini-camp last month, telling the Sun last month that he was looking to redeem himself in 2010.

"Hey, it’s not expected for me to have a season like that," Suggs said of his '09 campaign. "Rest assured, it will never happen again."

NFL players opting to work out on their own is nothing new, nor is it something worth slamming a player over, especially when that players hasn't missed a mandatory session and has participated in some of the team's conditioning program.

"Terrell Suggs has worked hard, and he's been here most of the days," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said last month. "The days he's been here, I think he's worked exceptionally hard. He's committed to getting into great shape."

Players may prefer to work out closer to their off-season homes, away from any media members, even at the expense of six-figure workout bonuses clubs insert into contracts to coax the player into spending more time in their building during the off-season.

One state that is overflowing with NFL players working out during the off-season is Arizona. Suggs, who played collegeiately at Arizona State University, makes his off-season home in Chandler, Arizona.