Ravens Face Difficult Situation With DL Haloti Ngata

Jamison Hensley of ESPN writes that the Ravens will need to figure something out with DL Haloti Ngata, as he has a $16 million cap and Baltimore is in major need of some cap space.

The Ravens can’t afford to keep Ngata around at that price and while there has been talk that the two sides could try to work out an extension, Hensley believes this is “far from a slam dunk.”

Last year, the Ravens and Ngata reportedly discussed an extension, but talks wound up going nowhere, and the defensive lineman now represents the easiest source of cap space.

Hensley mentions that Ngata might believe he could make more money with a new team, which would further complicate the situation.

Baltimore drafted Timmy Jernigan in the second round last year, and has shown some ability. With Jernigan already on their roster, Ngata having served a four-game suspension and currently 31 years old, there is a chance that the Ravens could move on without him.

Ngata, 31, still has one year remaining on his five-year, $61 million contract that included $37.1 million guaranteed. His base salary for the 2015 season is $8.5 million.

According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Ngata would free up $8.5 million in cap space while creating $7.5 million in dead money.

In 2014, appeared in 12 games and recorded 32 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and seven pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 9 defensive end in a 3-4 system out of 47 qualifying players.