ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Haloti Ngata has been with the Detroit Lions for less than 24 hours, but the defensive tackle has already said he is open to an extension with the franchise.
"Yeah, definitely," Ngata said. "We're open to anything. Just being here so far, I'm getting really comfortable already, and once I meet the guys I know I'll just want to stay here.
"So if an extension comes to mind, it'll be awesome. If not, then it is what is."
Ngata said negotiations will start whenever his agents at Priority Sports start talking with Detroit's front office. General manager Martin Mayhew gave a statement on trading for Ngata, but did not take questions about Ngata, Ndamukong Suh or anything else. Same with head coach Jim Caldwell and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
Team president Tom Lewand was in attendance, but he did not speak to the media.
Ngata said he doesn't know how much longer he's going to play but "as long as my body feels good, I'm just going to keep on playing." He is currently on the final year of his contract with a cap charge of $8.5 million after the trade. The Lions acquired Ngata and a seventh-round pick from Baltimore for their fourth- and fifth-round picks this year.
The Lions traded for Ngata after losing Suh to the Miami Dolphins in free agency when Suh was offered a six-year, $114 million contract. Mayhew, in his statement, said acquiring the 31-year-old Ngata "really alleviates a lot of concern about the defensive tackle position."
Ngata said he was fine with being traded instead of potentially being released and then having to "shop myself" on the open market after declining to take a pay cut to stay with the Ravens. Ngata said he didn't imagine actually leaving Baltimore until recently, when free agency was closing in and a deal had not been reached between him and the Ravens.
"It was just, we weren't close enough to what we thought I could get," Ngata said. "We just figured we'd just hold still until they do something and they ended up trading me."
It worked out for him since he ended up with a franchise where he is familiar with Austin and Caldwell from their time together with the Ravens.