AP

Haloti Ngata is 31 years old and due an $8.5 million base salary in 2015, and the combination of those two facts is leading to questions in Baltimore about whether Ngata will remain with the Ravens.

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the Ravens want to negotiate a new contract with Ngata, and that if they can’t get that done, Ngata will have to find another place to finish his career.

That news doesn’t come as a big surprise. The Ravens’ website noted in December that there’s no guarantee Ngata will be back in 2015, and that the Ravens might cut him this offseason.

Ngata has been a good player in Baltimore for nine years, and it would be nice to think that he could finish his career with the Ravens. But the business of the NFL is such that when players get on the wrong side of 30, teams lose any sense of loyalty. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Ravens decide that Ngata is too expensive, and to send him packing.