Haloti Ngata hasn’t set his eyes on retirement just yet, though nobody would blame him if he was. After all, the 12-year NFL veteran is a Super Bowl champion, a five-time Pro-Bowler, and two-time All Pro. He’ll also certainly find himself in the NFL Hall of Fame one day.
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But that’s on hold for now, as he’s made his preference perfectly clear – he wants to return for a 13th NFL season, and wants it to be with the Detroit Lions.
His year was cut short after five games this season after he suffered a torn bicep, and he had to watch Detroit’s playoff hopes once again end in disappointment. He’s finished the two year, $12 million deal he signed in 2016, and he’d like to return and be part of a playoff team – the Lions.
Perhaps had he played the entire season, retirement would be closer to the front of his mind. Things didn’t turn out that way, and Ngata doesn’t want his career to end after just a five-game season.
“I think if I finished the year healthy I would have been a little closer to probably retiring, but I want to finish the season, so I think I want to keep on playing,” Ngata said in an interview with 97.1 The Ticket. “I loved being able to be here and help Detroit have more dominance in this league. We’ve had winning seasons, and I just want to continue to build this franchise and get it to where it can be a dominant franchise and a great team, so I definitely want to be here.“
“I definitely want to keep on playing, but we’ll have to see once free agency hits.”
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Ngata’s presence (and subsequent absence) was felt by the Lions. With him in the lineup, the Lions were allowing 74.6 rushing yards per game, and only one team was able to run for over 100 yards in a game. In the five games he played,, Ngata had seven tackles and two sacks. But after his injury, the Lions allowed 55 more yards per game over their final 11 games, and were only able to hold three opponents to under 100 total rushing yards.
“The numbers with the run defense definitely changed, but you never know what could have happened,” Ngata said. “I just tried to be there as much as I could for the guys and help them out. I would like to think if I was playing we would be in the playoffs — and that’s what I wanted to do — but things happen. You never play football without getting injured.”
Ngata will turn 34 this month, and if he does indeed return to the Lions next year, their coaching staff will look quite different. Head coach Jim Caldwell was relieved of duty, and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is expected to land a gig elsewhere.
“I think Bob Quinn wanted to make sure that this team keeps on getting better and better, and I guess his thought was that was as good as we were going to get with Caldwell,” Ngata continued. “But it is what it is. It’s the business of football, and I believe that Bob Quinn will bring in a great coach that will (help us) become a better team and get us to the playoffs.”
“I just hope whoever he brings in doesn’t mind having a big D tackle.”
