Lions will likely pursue an extension with Haloti Ngata

Shortly after he was traded to the Detroit Lions, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata made it known that he is open to signing a contract extension with his new team. He's got one season left on his current contract, meaning he will become a free agent in 2016 without an extension.

It appears that the Lions have no interest in letting Ngata hit free agency next year based on what general manager Martin Mayhew said earlier this week:

Mayhew said he expects the Lions to pursue an extension with Haloti Ngata, but those discussions have yet to begin

— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 23, 2015

Ngata is set to make $8.5 million this year, and his cap number is also $8.5 million. That number could be dropped if the Lions sign him to a contract extension, though. They could extend his current deal by one or two years, for example, and they could take a portion of that $8.5 million and use it as the signing bonus in his new contract. That would then be spread out over multiple seasons instead of just applying to 2015.

For cap reasons alone, signing Ngata to an extension would make a lot of sense. However, the more important thing with an extension is that the Lions would ensure Ngata is on the team beyond 2015. I can't imagine they want to be in a position where replacing both starting defensive tackles is necessary again next year, so it would be wise to extend Ngata for that reason alone.