Haloti Ngata Retires on Top of the World

PHILADELPHIA (973espn.com) - What better way to go out on top than to do so literally.

Veteran nose tackle Haloti Ngata, who spent the 2018-19 season with the Eagles, announced his retirement on Instagram from atop Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

"Just a man standing on top of the world with a heart full of gratitude," Ngata wrote. "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."

In his prime with the Baltimore Ravens, Ngata was one of the greatest, pure run-stuffers of his era, a 6-foot-4, 340-pound wall who earned either first- or second-team All-Pro honors five times for engulfing double teams with his size and strength, enabling others like Hall of Fame middle linebacker Ray Lewis fo flow to the football unimpeded.

He recently climbed Kilimanjaro with Eagles teammates Chris Long and Jason Kelce, along with the man in he replaced in Philadelphia, current Tampa Bay defensive tackle  Beau Allen, as part of Long’s Waterboys charity initiative.

Ngata ended up being a key part of the Eagles' defensive line rotation in his final NFL season, although struggled through a calf injury for a large portion of it, finishing with 19 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble in 13 games.

A former first-round pick out of Oregon in 2006, Ngata was a part of Baltimore's Super Bowl XLVII winning team after the 2012 season.

Moving forward the Eagles currently have All-Pro Fletcher Cox, the recently signed Malik Jackson, Treyvon Hester and Bruce Hector under contract at DT for the 2019 season.

-John McMullen covers the Eagles and the NFL for 973espn.com. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen