Baltimore Great Haloti Ngata retires as Raven
The Baltimore Ravens signed back one of the all time great defensive lineman in NFL history, Haloti Ngata, to a one-day contract to allow him the opportunity to retire in purple and black.
During his nine year Ravens career, Ngata showed versatility up front and was invaluable to Baltimore’s sustained period of defensive dominance. Ngata had 51 tackles for loss and 74 quarterback hits.
Welcome back @Haloti_Ngata92 and Coach Billick! pic.twitter.com/uy0hBi9APn
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 29, 2019
Ngata truly played like a Raven. Haloti ended his career with 515 career tackles and 32.5 career sacks, 445 tackles and 25.5 sacks came in purple and black.
“You knew from the get-go, @Haloti_Ngata92 was going to be special.” @CoachBillick pic.twitter.com/msQEQlMAKZ— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 29, 2019
After four seasons split between Detroit and Philadelphia, along with seasons dealing with various injuries (including a torn bicep), Ngata announced his retirement back in March in amazing fashion by standing atop Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.
Ngata will get to say good-bye in Baltimore, the place where he got his start and built a career that 100% warrants Hall of Fame consideration.
“I remember putting on the tape on Haloti. Normally, it takes you three, four games to decide… It took me about 20 plays. I was like ‘Oh my goodness.'” pic.twitter.com/vtURqLCXNF
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 29, 2019
Press release from the Ravens:
Haloti Ngata helped define what it means to “play like a Raven” and will thus finish as one.
The mountainous defensive tackle will return to Baltimore Wednesday to officially retire as a Raven, bringing the career of one of the team’s all-time great defenders full circle.
Owner Steve Bisciotti and Executive Vice President Ozzie Newsome will be on hand for the 3 p.m. press conference at the Under Armour Performance Center and will also make two more special announcements.
Ngata went to five Pro Bowls during his nine-year career in Baltimore, anchoring the first line of some of Baltimore’s greatest defenses. He then played for three seasons with the Detroit Lions (2015-2017) and spent last season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
A first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in 2006, Ngata was an immediate starter and impact player. A freakish athlete standing in at 6-foot-4, 340 pounds, Ngata made the most of his unique talent.
Of his 515 career tackles and 32.5 career sacks, 445 tackles, 25.5 sacks and one breaking of Ben Roethlisberger’s nose came in purple and black. During his nearly decade of service in Baltimore, he only missed nine games.
While Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, as well as the more brash Terrell Suggs, got much of the glory in the Ravens defense, Ngata quietly did a lot of the dirty work while still making splash plays of his own. From 2006-2018, Ngata is the NFL’s only defensive tackle to record at least 30 sacks and five interceptions.
In addition to being a major reason for top defenses such as the 2006 and 2011 units, Ngata helped catapult Baltimore to Super Bowl XLVII victory with a big 2012 season in which he notched 51 tackles and five sacks.
Perhaps just as valuable was his steady leadership, both somewhat quietly behind the scenes and with the way he always played with hustle and determination on the field. His personality was infectious.
