Carlos Monarrez

Detroit Free Press

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata isn’t willing to say that the balance of power has entirely shifted with Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton joining the Chicago Bears. But Ngata knows Sitton will make a difference.

“It makes them a stronger team,” Ngata said. “A Pro Bowl guard that’s done really well in the league. It makes them better. So you have another Pro Bowl guard with Kyle Long and then you have him. So it makes them a better team, a better O-line.”

Sitton, a three-time Pro Bowler, was surprisingly released by the Packers on Saturday and signed a three-year deal with the Bears on Sunday. The Packers will start fourth-year pro Lane Taylor at left guard. Ngata said he figured the Packers had a good plan to replace Sitton.

“I don’t think the Packers are just going to let anybody go like that,” he said. “I think they probably have a solid guy at left guard. So I don’t think it switches any role. You’ve definitely got to see the first couple games how some games roll through and pan out.”

Ngata has only lined up directly against Sitton a few times. But Ngata has rave reviews.

“Most of the time you can’t move that guy,” Ngata said. “He’s big and very balanced and most of the times you’re pretty much stuck. He’s good. He’s very strong and very good at moving and catching guys.”

The Vikings made a big push in free agency by adding San Francisco guard Alex Boone and Cincinnati tackle Andre Smith to assemble the NFL’s most expensive offensive line. Ngata said he considers the Vikings’ O-line the division’s best.

“They paid a lot of money to a lot of good offensive linemen that came from different teams,” he said. “You think Minnesota has a really good offensive line. Green Bay (too).

“So you always have solid guys on each O-line, but you think of Minnesota having so many guys signed in the off-season thinking that they could probably do a lot of good things.”

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez. Download our free Lions Xtra app on your Apple and Android devices.