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Haloti Ngata

Haloti Ngata Suspended For Four Games

December 4th, 2014 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata will miss the rest of the regular season after violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, the Ravens announced today (via Twitter). The league has suspended Ngata four games for failing a drug test.

“I made a mistake, and I own this,” Ngata said in a statement, according to the team (Twitter links). “I took Adderall and take full responsibility for doing this. I am deeply sorry and broken up over this. I let down my family, my teammates, Ravens fans, and myself.”

Losing Ngata, who has been a Pro Bowler for five consecutive season, is a significant blow for a Ravens defense that has ranked ninth in DVOA this year, per Football Outsiders. As Pro Football Focus’ grades show (subscription required), Ngata has been his usual effective self on defense this season, playing well against both the run and the pass. The longtime Raven has even grabbed a couple interceptions this season, as well as defending a career-high seven passes.

At 7-5, the Ravens are tied with several other AFC clubs, and will likely have to win at least three of their final four games to have a shot at a playoff berth. If they do sneak into the postseason, the Ravens would be able to activate Ngata, whose four-game suspension expires at the end of the regular season.

Assuming Baltimore doesn’t earn a playoff berth, there’s a possibility – albeit a slim one – that Ngata has played his last game with the club. 2015 is the final year of his contract, and the former first-round pick, who turns 31 in January, is on the books for a $16MM cap hit. Reworking or extending Ngata’s deal to reduce the impact on next year’s cap seems like a realistic scenario.

Ravens Not Planning Contract Extensions

August 28th, 2014 at 8:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens gained some financial flexibility this week when they restructured cornerback Lardarius Webb‘s $50MM contract, but that doesn’t mean contract extensions for their current players are on the way, sources tell Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.

Extension candidates in Baltimore include wide receiver Torrey Smith, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, cornerback Jimmy Smith, and Pro Bowl kicker Justin Tucker, but it doesn’t sound like they’ll be inking new deals right away. Smith is probably the most likely candidate of that group as he enters the final year of his deal, but Wilson hears that talks haven’t advanced all that quickly between the club and the former Maryland standout. Ngata, whose contract talks with the Ravens didn’t get far earlier this year, is under contract for the next two seasons at $8.5 million per year. Tucker, meanwhile, can be retained as a restricted free agent after this season and there haven’t been any talks between the two sides. Jimmy Smith has two years left on his deal and recently said that he’s not expecting an extension to materialize.

Meanwhile, even after signing veteran cornerback Derek Cox to a one-year deal, the Ravens are actively monitoring the waiver wire and the trade block for a CB, according to Wilson.

Ozzie Newsome Reflects On Ravens Offseason

June 27th, 2014 at 12:48pm CST by Ben Levine

Most team executives feel pretty good about themselves following an eventful offseason, and Raven general manager Ozzie Newsome is certainly included in that bunch. The Hall of Fame tight end talked to Kevin Byrne, the team’s Senior Vice President of Public and Community Relations, about some of his transactions. Here are a few of the notable tidbits…

His assessment of the current roster and where it’s most improved:

“We feel pretty good right now. We could tweak the roster a little between now and the start of the regular season, but, overall, we accomplished a lot since the end of last season.

We’ll be better on offense. I really like Gary (Kubiak’s) schemes. It’s very precise. It’s physical. I think we’ll run the ball better, we’ll keep the ball more and we’ll have big plays. You can tell the players, especially guys like Joe (Flacco), like it – and they can see that we have a good chance to be a lot better.”

On the contract extension for linebacker Terrell Suggs and the status of Haloti Ngata‘s contract talks:

“We wanted two things from these contracts. The first is to create some cap room and the other is to try and make sure these two players remained Ravens forever. We got ‘Sizzle’ done and we’re still hopeful with Haloti.”

On losing cornerback Corey Graham and defensive end Arthur Jones:

“We lost Corey when we thought we could get him, but (the Bills) paid a premium. We knew we couldn’t sign Arthur Jones. He earned a huge salary and the Colts gave it to him. We couldn’t go there and sign other players we needed. The $10 million increase in the salary cap helped us get the others done.”

Thoughts on team’s additions at wide receiver and offensive line:

“We landed Steve Smith, who is not your typical aging player. He’s a special competitor, driven to show everyone he can play at a high level. You saw him during the camps. He’s going to help.

“Getting Jeremy Zuttah was a bonus. He wasn’t on the front burner at the beginning of the offseason. But, like Steve Smith, he was on a list we’ve developed of guys who are late in their contracts and might be available. We asked the question and they (the Buccaneers) were willing to move him. He’s a good player.”

Ravens Notes: Extensions, Ross, Franks, Rice

June 23rd, 2014 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

When the Ravens signed five players to their roster at the end of last week’s minicamp, most of the new additions were veterans, or at least players who have spent some time with an NFL club for a season or two. That’s not the case for Nick DiMarco, an undrafted rookie who was cut by the Jets shortly after being signed by the team in May. The William Penn product has joined the Ravens in search of a regular-season roster spot, and while it may be an uphill battle, he tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun that he intends to do everything he can to impress his coaches.

Here’s more on the Ravens, from Wilson’s Sun colleague, Jeff Zrebiec:

  • While there’s not much going on around the NFL for the next month, it would be a good time for the Ravens to address potential contract extensions for wideout Torrey Smith and defensive lineman Haloti Ngata, says Zrebiec. Smith is entering the final season of his rookie deal, while Ngata has two years left on his pact.
  • After signing veterans Chris Canty and Marcus Spears and using a third-round pick on Brandon Williams in 2013, the Ravens didn’t see much improvement on their defensive line last season, so the team was forced to address the position again this year. However, Zrebiec thinks it could be a much-improved group in 2014, given the promise already being shown by draftees Timmy Jernigan and Brent Urban.
  • Zrebiec views recent signees Aaron Ross and Dominique Franks as insurance policies for Baltimore, and expects the team to give Chykie Brown and Asa Jackson every opportunity to earn the No. 3 cornerback job. Ross and Franks may ultimately end up competing for a single roster spot.
  • Although there’s no timetable for the NFL to make its announcement on a Ray Rice suspension, commissioner Roger Goodell likely won’t want to prolong it, assuming he has all the information he needs. As such, we could get the news on Rice very soon.

AFC Notes: Titans, Vick, Ravens, Chiefs, Bills

June 17th, 2014 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

According to recent reports, the Broncos may or may not have offered Demaryius Thomas a five-year contract extension, but there’s no doubt that discussions are open between the two sides, prompting Joel Corry of the National Football Post to examine what a new deal for the star wideout might look like. Corry points out that matching the massive contracts signed by Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald probably isn’t likely for Thomas and other standout receivers approaching free agency. But as I suggested last week, the five-year, $60MM+ deals signed by Mike Wallace and Percy Harvin in recent years could be used as benchmarks in negotiations between Thomas and the Broncos.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • The Titans worked out a pair of linebackers, Quentin Groves and Marvin Mitchell, on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Neither player received a contract from the club right away, however. Per Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter), the Titans are also auditioning WR/FB Dorin Dickerson this week at their minicamp.
  • Michael Vick is on a one-year contract with the Jets, but the signal-caller feels like he has about three years left at his “current level,” as he tells Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (Twitter link). Although the “current level” qualifier makes it unclear whether Vick plans to continue his playing career beyond that point, it sounds like he hopes to play for at least a couple more seasons after his current deal expires.
  • Asked today about a potential contract extension with Baltimore, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata told reporters that he’d “love to be a Raven for life” (Twitter link).
  • We heard yesterday that several veteran cornerbacks would be trying out for the Ravens at their minicamp this week, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun adds one more name to the list of participants today: Kevin Thomas, a Colts third-round pick in 2010 who hasn’t appeared in a regular season game since 2011. Wilson adds in a pair of tweets that cornerback Bobby Felder, linebacker Austin Spitler and wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe are also trying out for the Ravens.
  • Former Missouri defensive back Kip Edwards was one of four non-roster players to audition for the Chiefs at the club’s minicamp today, tweets Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link) provides the other three names: Cornerback Quinton Byrd, and wide receivers Mark Harrison and Cole Stanford.
  • In a series of three tweets, Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 AM and Mike Rodak of ESPN.com report that wide receiver Tori Gurley, cornerback Kamaal McIlwain, and cornerback Sam Miller are auditioning for the Bills at their minicamp.

Ngata Rejected Ravens’ Long-Term Offer?

April 18th, 2014 at 7:53am CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY, 7:53am: There has been some disagreement this week between Breer and Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com about the veracity of the initial report. La Canfora tweeted earlier in the week the idea Ngata turned down any sort of lucrative extension offer from the Ravens is “unfounded.” Breer doubled down on his original report last night (via Twitter), while La Canfora reiterated this morning (via Twitter) that he hears Ngata wasn’t offered “anything close to $17MM guaranteed.”

Although we have conflicting reports here, La Canfora seems to be taking issue with the idea that Baltimore’s extension offer was “lucrative” and was comparable to the Suggs deal. The CBSSports.com scribe doesn’t dispute the notion that Ngata turned down an offer of some sort. In any case, it seems the two sides aren’t close to reaching an agreement at the moment — that applies to both the Ravens and Ngata, and to Breer and La Canfora.

TUESDAY, 8:06pm: The Ravens have been working hard this offseason to work out a new deal with defensive tackle Haloti Ngata that would soften his impact on the salary cap. Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter) reports that the club offered a “lucrative, long-term extension” to the 30-year-old that was turned down.

Without a new deal being reached, Ngata will count $16MM against Baltimore’s salary cap this season. Exact terms of the offer are not known but Breer (Twitter link) says the deal was similar in concept to the deal given to linebacker Terrell Suggs and would have allowed Ngata to retire with the Ravens. Suggs’ new contract, inked in February, keeps him with the Ravens through 2018 and took his 2014 cap number from $12.4MM to $7.8MM.

Last season, Ngata recorded 23 tackles and 1.5 sacks en route to his fifth straight Pro Bowl.

Ravens Rumors: Pitta, Monroe, Oher, Ngata

February 18th, 2014 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

We passed along word last night that the Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta remain “far apart” in contract negotiations, but that isn’t the only noteworthy tidbit from Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. The Ravens insider provided several more rumors in his latest piece, so let’s round up the highlights:

  • Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome said during Monday’s presser to announce Terrell Suggs‘ new contract that the team has entered negotiations with many of its own free agents: “We’ve engaged in discussions with several of our players. With the combine coming up, the majority of the agents will be there and we will be there. I’m sure we’ll have some more talks, but we’ve engaged in several conversations with several players.”
  • A source predicts to Wilson that the Ravens will designate Pitta as their franchise player, which will likely be followed by Pitta filing a grievance in an effort to be designated as a wide receiver rather than a tight end. Like Jimmy Graham of the Saints, Pitta lined up as a receiver for more than half of his 2013 snaps.
  • The Ravens are prioritizing re-signing offensive tackle Eugene Monroe and have begun negotiations with his camp, says Wilson. If the team is able to lock up Monroe, fellow free agent tackle Michael Oher is unlikely to be retained.
  • Baltimore would also like to bring back middle linebacker Daryl Smith, though no deal is imminent.
  • Defensive lineman Arthur Jones is expected to draw “heavy interest” on the open market, and the Ravens may not have the cap flexibility to re-sign him, according to Wilson.
  • The Ravens explored the possibility of lowering Haloti Ngata‘s cap number, but have been unable to reach a “realistic” financial compromise, a source tells Wilson. Cutting the defensive tackle isn’t viewed as a viable option for the team.