Lions Haven’t Spoken To DL Haloti Ngata Regarding An Extension, But Plan To Do So

Lions GM Martin Mayhew told reporters on Friday that while there appears to be mutual interest between the team and DL Haloti Ngata regarding a contract extension, the two sides have yet to sit down and discuss anything.

“I think they know that we have an interest in doing something and I think that we know they have an interest in doing something. But he just got here for the offseason program,’’ Mayhew said, via the Oakland Press. “We’re letting him get comfortable and get situated. At some point we’ll start that dialogue.”

Shortly after he was acquired in a trade with the Ravens, Ngata told reporters that he is open to signing a contract extension with the Lions.

“Yeah, definitely,” Ngata said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “We’re open to anything. You know, just being here so far, I’m getting really comfortable already. Once I meet the guys, I know I’ll just want to stay here. So if an extension comes to mind, that would be awesome. If not, then it is what it is.”

The Lions sent fourth- and fifth-round picks to the Ravens at the start of free agency in exchange for Ngata and a seventh-round selection.

Detroit pulled the trigger on the trade shortly after they lost DT Ndamukong Suh to the Dolphins at the start of free agency. However, the Lions didn’t exactly overextend themselves in this trade in terms of draft compensation, so it’s not all that pressing for them to get a deal in place before the start of the season, even though Ngata will be an unrestricted free agent next year.

Ngata, 31, 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.

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.