By MIKE O'HARA
FOX Sports Detroit
ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Ndamukong Suh will go to the Pro Bowl as a spectator, not a player.
The Lions' rookie defensive tackle was voted to start on the NFC's Pro Bowl team but is being forced to sit out because of a shoulder injury.
General manager Martin Mayhew made the announcement in a press briefing Wednesday afternoon at the team's headquarters facility.
"He's having shoulder surgery," Mayhew said.
Surgery will be done Jan. 10. Mayhew did specify which shoulder was injured.
"My thinking was just to make sure I was 100-percent healthy going into the off-season program and to be ready for March and so forth," Suh said of the planned surgery in a statement released by the Lions. "I truly wanted to play in the Pro Bowl, which is a great honor and opportunity.
"It came down to making a decision to play in the Pro Bowl or to have surgery as soon as possible and begin rehab in order to help my team next year achieve our goals of getting into the playoffs and competing for a championship.
"The organization and I opted to have the surgery now and not wait. I will always put my team first. I will still plan to attend the Pro Bowl and support my teammate Calvin Johnson."
Johnson was voted to start at wide receiver for the NFC. The Pro Bowl is Jan. 30 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
Suh started all 16 games and had a sack in the season-ending victory over the Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday.
Mayhew also announced that the Lions are parting ways with outside linebacker Julian Peterson. Peterson started 31 games after being acquired in a trade with Seattle in 2009.
Peterson was made inactive for the last game, raising speculation that his stay in Detroit was over. He had one year left on his contract. He informed Peterson of the decision in a meeting Monday, Mayhew said.
"We had a great meeting," Mayhew said. "I thanked him for his two years with the organization."
The fact that Peterson was made inactive for the last game indicated that some kind of conflict arose, but Mayhew would not address that issue.
"I'm not really going to comment on that, other than to say he was here two years and gave us two years of service," Mayhew said.
Jan. 5,2011
