Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell on Yannick Ngakoue Trade: ‘We Felt It Was Good Value’
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell has had to make a lot of trades since cornerback Jalen Ramsey was first sent to Los Angeles for two first-round picks last October, but the latest trade was maybe the most anticipated.
For the entirety of the 2020 offseason, the future of defensive end Yannick Ngakoue was a major talking point for the entire NFL. Ngakoue made it clear in March that he did not intend to re-sign with the team after his rookie deal expired, but it wasn't until last Sunday that the Jaguars finally dealt their star pass-rusher.
Ngakoue was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 conditional fifth-round pick once it became clear the Jaguars could not rebuild the relationship between their front office and the fifth-year veteran. And as general manager Dave Caldwell described it during a press conference on Saturday, there was an unknown to the entire situation between the team and Ngakoue until a deal was finally made.
“I did not know and we’ve always had a very good relationship, he and I, although obviously when the business part gets messy it’s a challenge," Caldwell said Saturday when asked if he thought he could have repaired the relationship between Ngakoue and the Jaguars.
"I have a ton of respect for him and his principles as a person and a ton of respect for him as a player. Like I’ve said many times, he’s done everything we asked him to do and he deserved the opportunity to be a free agent. We franchised him and we exercised our rights to franchise him and get value for him."
In four seasons, Ngakoue recorded 37.5 sacks (second-most in franchise history), 14 forced fumbles and 42 tackles for loss. Ngakoue recorded eight sacks, four forced fumbles and tied a career-high in tackles for loss with 13 last season.
Ngakoue was in a back-and-forth dispute with the Jaguars all offseason, but his issues originated even before that. Ngakoue was seeking a new deal in the 2019 offseason but the Jaguars and Ngakoue's camp failed to find much middle ground, leading to a short training camp holdout for Ngakoue. Various reports since have stated the negotiations fell apart because former Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin declined to offer Ngakoue more than once.
But as Caldwell said Saturday, and as we stressed all offseason, the Jaguars never wanted to actually not have Ngakoue on their roster in 2020. Trading him was simply one possible outcome out of several possible outcomes, though it was never the top scenario the Jaguars envisioned.
Because it was clear that Ngakoue playing for the Jaguars in 2020 was not ever going to be a reality, Caldwell and the Jaguars deemed it worthwhile to instead trade him for a day two pick in next year's draft.
"Our number one goal would have been [for him] to play for us. That was not feasible at the time and then we were able to draft K’Lavon Chaisson, who we feel really good about it and [to] kind of be his replacement," Caldwell said.
"Between K’Lavon and Josh [Allen], and then to be able to get value for Yan, get out of the almost eighteen million dollars, and get a valued pick in the second round and possibly as high as a third round the following year, was something that for a guy on a franchise tag or a one year trade guy, that you can’t redo his deal, making that type of money to get that type of value at this time. We felt it was good value.”
Unlike several other players Caldwell has traded in the past year (Jalen Ramsey, Ronnie Harrison), Ngakoue took the high road when discussing the end of his Jaguars tenure with Vikings media earlier this week.
"Well, you know, after not retaining a long-term deal with Jacksonville I kind of felt a little disheartened about it. But at the end of the day, it’s business," Ngakoue said on Friday.
"I’m still thankful and appreciative they gave me an opportunity to have my dream for four years. It’s always going to be love for Jacksonville but I felt like, and my family as well, we felt like it was best for me to be able to move forward to a new place, new organization and just get a fresh start."
