Mayhew 'Ecstatic' To Get Ngata, Says Team Will Talk With Him About Contract Extension
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
PHOENIX - The Detroit Lions started looking at Haloti Ngata as a replacement for Ndamukong Suh as soon as general manager Martin Mayhew received word from team president Tom Lewand that Suh would be signing with the Miami Dolphins.
Mayhew had been leaving church when Lewand texted him Sunday, during the three-day negotiating period before the start of free agency, that Suh had elected to go elsewhere. Mayhew went to the office, and vice president of pro personnel Sheldon White suggested they watch some film on Ngata.
The Lions gave up a pair of 2015 draft picks to get Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens, and Mayhew said Monday the five-time Pro Bowl selection definitely merited the price.
"Draft picks are important," Mayhew said at a sit-down with Detroit reporters at the Arizona Biltmore. "You don't ever want to give them up, and we are trying to build this thing through the draft, but to be able to acquire a player like Haloti Ngata -- look at what we had at defensive tackle at that time, losing our top three guys, or having our top three guys be free agents -- if you'd have told me I could have gotten Haloti Ngata, I'd have been ecstatic to be able to add him to our football team, so I thought it was worth it."
Ngata has only one year remaining on his deal, but both he and the Lions have expressed a willingness to talk about a contract extension. Ngata said after his introductory press conference that he and his agent had wanted a three-year extension from the Ravens, while Baltimore had actually wanted a longer deal. Mayhew did not speak about any such details but said the team will discuss the topic with Ngata.
"That's something we'll talk about at some point," Mayhew said. "We know that that's something that we need to talk about with him at some point, and we will."
When the Lions originally asked Baltimore about Ngata, the day before free agency started, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome did not want to give him up.
"I called him on Monday and said, 'Hey, I don't know, you read stuff, don't know if it's true or what, I just thought I'd check in. We have an interest if you get ready to do something,'" Mayhew recounted. "He said, 'Nah, I might keep him.' He said he thought he might keep him, hadn't made a decision about what he wanted to do yet, but then he called me on Tuesday and said he was available.
"I asked what his timetable was," Mayhew added. "He said, 'Whenever I get a good deal, I'm going to take it.'"
The deal came together in just a few hours, and the Lions had their replacement for Suh.
