Detroit Lions defensive tackle Haloti Ngata has confessed that he was "not surprised" when he was traded by the Baltimore Ravens in the off-season.

Ngata had been with the Ravens since 2006, but his time with the club was ended when they took the decision to trade him for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 Draft due to his high salary.

"The closer we got to free agency, I thought it could be a possibility," Ngata told TheMMQB.com. "It didn't surprise me, but it definitely surprised a lot of my family friends.

"But since we weren't getting closer to any kind of contract stuff, I just figured there were a lot of things that could happen. I definitely started to have a trade in my mind as a possibility."

Ngata has recorded 445 tackles, 25.5 sacks and five interceptions in his nine years in the NFL.