Haloti Ngata's retirement is turning out to be much more exciting than the year he spent with the Eagles.
First, the 35-year-old officially retired from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and now he's apparently going to play rugby.
The former NFL All-Pro announced that he's signed a contract with the Utah Warriors and this is no April Fools joke. The Warriors officially announced that they signed Ngata and he'll begin with the Warriors immediately. He held up a sign saying, "I'm Going Back to Rugby" from Utah's Ensign Peak. If Ngata needs to make announcements, he does it from mountaintops.
Anyway, Ngata apparently played high school rugby in Salt Lake City, so he's going back to a sport with which he has plenty of familiarity.
The Utah Warriors have a home game this Friday against the Seattle Seawolves, which is about the best team name I have ever heard.
I wanted to move my family back to Utah but do not want to stop competing and want to bring another rugby championship home to Utah. The Warriors have done an amazing job in bringing professional rugby to Utah and the Warriors fan base is loud and loyal" Ngata continued. "Whether its the Washington Huskies, the Seattle Seahawks, or now the Seattle Seawolves, I've never been fond of teams from Seattle.
Ngata spent just one season with the Eagles, but spent 13 in the NFL and was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.
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Ngata is expected to start for the Warriors on Friday night, according to the release.
My favorite quote (by far) from the release comes from Warriors forwards coach Stevie Scott:
"Being from Scotland, I don't know a thing about American Football or the NFL but if he is ready to play rugby again, and can help us scrum our way to victory, and does what I say then I am happy to have him on our pitch. I understand he's about 18 stones, that should be plenty to scare the other teams not to mention his athletic prowess."
Exactly.
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