Haloti Ngata Climbs Mountain, Retires

Free agent defensive tackle Haloti Ngata was not returning to the Eagles in 2019, but that’s official now that the 35-year-old announced his retirement from atop Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania:

 

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Just a man standing on top of the world with a heart full of gratitude. Thank you Lord for letting me play the game I love for 13 unforgettable years. I’m retiring on top. I might be finished playing football, but I’m holding tight to the friendships, memories and wisdom I’ve gained along the way. “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” Walking away with no regrets, just peace in knowing I gave it my all and had a helluva lot of fun doing it. 💪🏽 #kissestotheskyformomanddad @ravens @detroitlionsnfl @philadelphiaeagles

A post shared by Haloti Ngata (@hngata92) on Mar 18, 2019 at 3:00am PDT

Ngata was over there with Chris Long and the other Waterboys folks who work to bring clean water to East African communities.

Haloti played 13 games for the Eagles in his final NFL year, finishing with 17 tackles, one sack, a forced fumble, and four stuffs. He played 368 snaps, which was second among defensive tackles and accounted for about 35% of the Birds’ defensive snaps.

We got him at the end of his career, but Ngata was an elite 3-4 lineman with the Ravens, where he won a Super Bowl and earned five Pro Bowl honors.

This is a good idea for retirement, a way to go out “on top,” literally. Someday I will announce my retirement from atop Hawk Mountain in Berks County.