Report: Jaguars' Yannick Ngakoue Has Had Contract Talks With 'Multiple Teams'
With about five hours to go until the deadline for Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to sign a multi-year contract passes, all eyes are on whether or not the Pro Bowl 25-year-old will be traded by the end of the day.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Tuesday that Ngakoue was still drawing some trade interest from teams around the league, and ESPN's Adam Schefter took it a step further with his own update on Ngakoue Wednesday.
"Jaguars' franchise DE Yannick Ngakoue has engaged in contract discussions with multiple teams, but the pandemic has made any long-term deal challenging," Schefter tweeted Wednesday.
Schefter went on to say that teams around the league believe a new contract for him would not be what holds up a trade. The former 2016 third-round pick has been seeking a long-term contract since the 2019 offseason, and his lack of one from the Jaguars last season is the primary motive behind the disgruntled pass-rusher wanting out of Jacksonville.
Instead, it appears the Jaguars themselves may be what is so far preventing a Ngakoue trade, though Schefter noted they have spoken to teams about the disgruntled defensive end.
"The holdup so far has been Jacksonville's unwillingness to agree to a trade for a player who has vowed to move on from the Jaguars," Schefter continued.
Ngakoue has until 4 p.m. today to sign a multi-year extension, whether with the Jaguars or with another team, or else he will be forced to play on the one-year franchise tag tender.
Ngakoue has been pushing for the Jaguars to trade him all offseason after the team failed to sign him to a long-term extension during the 2019 offseason. Ngakoue has made consistent public demands, as well as engaging in a spat with co-owner Tony Khan over Twitter.
Still, there has been little to zero momentum on any Ngakoue trade all spring and summer. Perhaps the deadline Wednesday could change that, but thus far it appears as if the trade talks have been quiet.
"As far as that goes, I try not to comment too much on the situation. I try to be very pragmatic about it. Truth be told, we exercised the franchise tender. We weren’t able to get a trade. Actually, weren’t even really able to get an offer," Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said following the first round of the NFL Draft in April.
"So, I think his options are very limited at this point in time. We’ll welcome him back with open arms when he’s ready to come back and we look forward to it. Yann, for the people on this call and who have been around him realize he is a tremendous player, tremendous person, has always been first-class in everything he’s done here in the locker room and through his time here, the first four years of his contract. Obviously, he feels things have not gone the way he wanted and, in some aspects, he may have a point. But we put our best foot forward not once, but twice. I hope he sees the light that Jacksonville is a good spot and it could, at the end of the day, be his only option.”
Jacksonville found themselves in a similar situation with cornerback Jalen Ramsey last season. Ramsey had tried for weeks to force his way out of Jacksonville via a trade but the Jaguars dug in and refused to move the cornerback without the proper compensation, which eventually came in the form of three draft picks, including two first-rounders, from the Los Angeles Rams.
Simply put, it has yet to appear as if the Jaguars have an interest in moving Ngakoue unless they get a large offer. If the team was willing to take a deal with diminishing value for the pass-rusher, it is likely they would have already done it by this point.
Ngakoue has 37.5 sacks and 14 forced fumbles since entering the league in 2016, including eight sacks and four forced fumbles last season.
