Philadelphia Eagles: DT Haloti Ngata might stay with the Detroit Lions
The Philadelphia Eagles do not actually have veteran defensive tackle Haloti Ngata signed at this time.
Well, this is quite the unusual situation for the Philadelphia Eagles. News broke out on Tuesday that the Philadelphia Eagles would agree to sign veteran defensive tackle Haloti Ngata to a one-year deal. But everything seemed off when the actual opening of free agency began on Wednesday afternoon.
Moves have been made all throughout the past week, but nothing could be official until 4 pm on Wednesday. As soon as the clock struck four, the Eagles PR team began immediately updating the public with their first official offseason moves. They included the two trades to acquire Michael Bennett and Daryl Worley, along with the signings of Corey Nelson and Nigel Bradham.
Something was off though when the report did not include the rumored signing of Haloti Ngata. The 34-year-old Detroit Lions tackle was set to become the final piece of the Eagles strong defensive rotation up front. But now they might have to continue their search for somebody else as Ngata may consider staying in Detroit.
What is going on?
Free agent DT Haloti Ngata, who played last year for the #Lions, is visiting the #Eagles today, source said. If it goes well, he will likely sign, though Detroit remains interested in having him return for another year.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2018
Ngata’s scheduled visit to Philly for Thursday will officially decide where he will be for the 2018 season. Usually, official visits like this end in a signing. Considering Ngata’s role will be a backup. There’s no telling where his head is at about his possible position on the depth chart.
As surprising as it is, the Eagles are no strangers to this type of situation. Remember back in 2015 when the Eagles were set to sign the veteran running back, Frank Gore? Well, he ended up taking off and signing with the Indianapolis Colts out of nowhere.
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So it may be rare in the NFL for agreements to be broken when free agency officially fires up, but it happens. With the Lions being interested in Ngata still, this deal between Ngata and the Eagles is probably far from a sure thing. We can only hope that the Super Bowl contender factor can play a role in his decision. That always seems to help convince an aging veteran where to sign.