Detroit Lions

Lions' Haloti Ngata: 'I would love to stay' in Detroit

Published Jan. 25, 2016 4:07 p.m. ET

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Detroit Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata is 32 years old and nearing free agency. The team will have to make a decision on his future this spring, allowing him to either sign elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent or return to Detroit at a drastically reduced rate.

After a down year, Ngata hopes that the Lions want to have him back for another season.

Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press:

We haven’t been talking just because [Lions general manager Bob] Quinn (just got hired) and he’s just trying to get everything situated there. He wants to talk -- or my agent and him want to talk, most likely after the Senior Bowl and stuff. But whatever happens, happens. I would love to stay. I love what Coach (Jim) Caldwell’s done here, love playing under him and with Coach Kris (Kocurek). I feel like I got in a groove towards the end of the season and hopefully I can play a whole season understanding the system.

...

I think the future’s really bright here. Coach Caldwell I think has done a great job keeping us motivated at the end of the season, or just midway through the season. ... I love the way he coaches, love the way he tries to not only coach us as football players but let us grow as men, as husbands, brothers, fathers and stuff like that. It’s real important to him to have great character guys on the team.

In his first season with the Lions, Ngata wasn't the All-Pro performer he once was with the Baltimore Ravens. After landing in Detroit via an offseason trade, the 345-pound tackle sat out a large portion of training camp with a hamstring injury. Throughout the season, he was hampered by shoulder, calf, neck and foot ailments.

Because of these injuries, Ngata was not very effective from a statistical standpoint. The former 12th-overall draft pick finished the season with a career-low 24 tackles (15 solo). His old, disruptive form was only on display in rare and brief bursts, as he recorded 2.5 sacks and three defended passes in 2015.

The Lions paid Ngata $8.5 million in base salary for his services this past season. If they choose to retain him, they shouldn't sign him to anything more than a one-year deal -- and it shouldn't be worth much more than the veteran minimum.