Detroit Lions free agency predictions: Haloti Ngata

Why he could stay

The Lions’ front office has a ton of work to do on the defensive line this offseason. As contract currently stand, the Lions have the second-lowest amount of 2018 cap spending allocated to the defensive line. A franchise tag or long-term deal for Ziggy Ansah would send them skyrocketing up that list, but still would have the Lions on the outside of the top ten and half of what the Jacksonville Jaguars have on the books for their 2018 defensive line.

An easy way to start addressing the defensive line for 2018 would be to re-sign Ngata. Prior to suffering a season-ending surgery, he proved to still be a capable contributor and is a solid leader on and off the field. For an organization that has shown that character matters, Ngata’s leadership qualities shouldn’t be brushed aside when considering his possible return.

Leadership is nice but players still have to perform and Ngata checks out just fine there despite being in the late stages of his career. His absence was a hit to the defense, particularly against the run where the Lions saw a big drop after Ngata was lost in week five.

Ngata has experience in both three-man and four-man fronts going back to his time with the Baltimore Ravens and that kind of veteran experience could be invaluable as the Lions install a new defense that will feature multiple fronts under Matt Patricia.

It was the previous front office that made the trade for Ngata but it was Bob Quinn who retained him on his most recent contract. As long as there is interest from both sides, and Ngata has indicated a desire to keep playing, a return makes a lot of sense. Something less than the two-year, $12 million deal Ngata is coming off of should get the job done.