Haloti Ngata is typically the biggest man in any room, but in this instance he was standing in the shadow of a legend.

The No. 92 he has worn throughout his esteemed career is not available at his latest, and perhaps last, stop. The Philadelphia Eagles retired it in honor of Reggie White. During his introductory news conference Friday, Ngata shot a look to the far left corner of the auditorium, where a portrait of White ran from floor to ceiling.

"I'll never take 92 here. He is one of my idols. Reggie White is the reason why I chose 92. It is so cool to be here and see 92 everywhere," Ngata said shortly after signing a one-year, $3 million deal.

"I loved the way he played, but mainly the man he was off the field. Very humbling, God-fearing man. Just loved him. He's a great example, and that's what I wanted to be: a great football player but also a great person off the field."

After consulting with his kids, Ngata happily settled on No. 94 instead.

Truth is, Ngata is just happy to still be playing. Now 34 and with a Super Bowl championship, five Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro bids under his belt, he acknowledged that he's been year-t0-year for two or three seasons now when it comes to the retirement question. But he tore his biceps in October and decided he didn't want to go out on injured reserve. The fire lit, he pushed through physical therapy and is now at the stage where he's just strengthening the area up. Asked how much he has left in the tank, Ngata, who had two sacks in five games last season, replied, "I feel like I have a lot."

The Eagles thought enough of the 12-year veteran to add him to the mix as they try and gear up for a repeat. With defensive tackle Beau Allen signing with the Tampa Bay Bucs in free agency, Ngata is the favorite to assume the role of the third defensive tackle behind Fletcher Cox and Tim Jernigan in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's rotation-heavy system. Allen played 41 percent of the snaps in 2017.

Ngata spent the past three seasons with the Detroit Lions, who also ask their defensive linemen to shoot gaps and attack upfield, as Schwartz does. He had more two-gap responsibilities while playing in a 3-4 scheme for the Ravens from 2006 to 2014, but still sees similarities between those stout Ravens defenses and the one that helped bring the Lombardi trophy to Philly this past season.

"The Eagles did an amazing job on defense last year," he said. "Stopping the run is number one, and that's kind of what we did in Baltimore. Other than it being 3-4 and 4-3, that's the difference, but the philosophy, the desire to get to that ball carrier, to hunt and all that, it seemed like it was all there."

Ngata captured a ring with the Ravens during the 2012 season. It's something he's been chasing ever since -- a pursuit that helped land him in the city where his idol looms large.

"It just excited me that the Super Bowl champs wanted me," said Ngata, who said his choice essentially came down to the Eagles versus re-signing with the Lions. "To have another chance to be able to go back and win again, it's an exciting feeling."