Ravens May Have Some Leverage With DL Haloti Ngata In Regards To Reworking His Deal

Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun writes that the Ravens need to negotiate a contract extension with DL Haloti Ngata, if they want to target upgrades in free agency.

Preston mentions that, unlike previous years, the Ravens now have some leverage when it comes to approaching Ngata about restructuring his contract.

According to Preston, the Ravens are expected to meet with Ngata’s agent at some point in the near future, and he expects them to point out that they have two possible young replacements in Brandon Williams and Timmy Jernigan.

Parting ways with Ngata could offer a lot of cap relief, but it could also create some locker room issues.

Ngata will count $16 million against the Ravens’ 2015 salary cap, which is the highest figure for anyone on Baltimore’s roster.

Jamison Hensley of ESPN previously mentioned that signing Ngata to an extension that would come with a more team-friendly cap figure this season is “far from a slam dunk.”

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

With Jernigan already on their roster, Ngata having served a four-game suspension and currently 31 years old, there is definitely a chance 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.