The Baltimore Ravens have to be a tad ticked off at the Miami Dolphins after the Fins inked Ndamukong Suh for 6 years, $114M, with $60M guaranteed.
Why?
Because that deal will likely drive up the price to extend Haloti Ngata.
Ngata isn’t the player that Suh is plus Haloti has 3 years on Suh. But that said, it could be argued that Ngata for the next 3 years could give a team about 70% of Suh’s production.
Therefore it’s very conceivable that Ngata could fetch a 4 year, $40M deal in an open market that has a ton of free spenders out there who need to spend to the cap floor.
If you wanted a steak at the Capital Grill but couldn’t get reservations, a steak at Lib’s Grill is a pretty good backup plan. Plus you will save a few bucks.
Comparatively speaking Ngata is a pretty good backup plan for those teams that coveted Suh. Add it up and Ngata’s representatives are very likely to take a firm stance with the Ravens negotiating team of Ozzie Newsome and Pat Moriarty.
But if it gets ugly, the Ravens could play hardball too. No one expects the Ravens to be players in free agency, particularly the initial wave of free spending. So they really don’t have to redo Ngata’s contract by the Tuesday deadline of 4PM. They could continue discussions with Haloti and let the crazy money die down a bit.
Of course then you might have a malcontent defensive tackle who happens to be a locker room leader and that really isn’t the Ravens style nor is it a desirable situation for a team that was one play removed from the 2015 AFC Championship Game.
Fighting dirty will benefit no one.
But as for Ngata, since January 20 I’ve predicted that he’ll dress in Colts blue.
As each day goes by there’s less and less of a chance for him to wear purple because he seeks more green.
And apparently there’s a field of it out there in the land of free agency.
