Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive Tackle, Haloti Ngata
Injury: Hamstring
When the Detroit Lions made the trade to bring in Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata from the Baltimore Ravens there were certainly mixed feelings amongst the fan base. Some liked the pick up as there was a tremendous hole left on the D-line following the departure of Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley and C.J. Mosley. Others on the other hand, felt that Ngata’s better days were behind him and that Martin Mayhew and Co. would have been better served putting the draft picks they traded away to good use.
The fans in support of the latter seemed to slowly come around — until lately that is.
With each passing week that Haloti Ngata missed practice and exhibition games, concerns were seeming to grow in the Motor City. Some were beginning to wonder if Ngata’s injury was worse than they were originally led to believe, or if this was just another case of head coach Jim Caldwell taking care of his veteran players.
In a Monday press release by coach Caldwell, the Lions leader stated that he was hopeful Ngata would be ready for week one, although he seemed surprisingly unsure. While this started to spark the speculation of fans everywhere, some of those concerns were at least partially put to ease on Tuesday afternoon.
Haloti Ngata was running off to the side of practice today. Also working on getting off a four-point stance. Good news for #Lions
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) August 25, 2015
That's the first time Haloti Ngata has worked out during practice. Good sign.
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) August 25, 2015
While it obviously goes without saying, the absence of Ngata once the regular season opens could be potentially crippling to this defense — especially against the run. For now however, I want to reassure you that in my opinion, I think he’ll be ready to go.
On the other hand, keeping your fingers crossed certainly wouldn’t hurt either.
Next: Joique Bell