Following A.J. Green’s Signing, Jaguars’ Yannick Ngakoue Is Lone Player to Not Sign Franchise Tender

14 players were franchise tagged this March, but so far only one player has yet to sign his tender and commit to reporting to training camp.

Earlier this March, 14 players throughout the NFL were designated with the franchise tag tender for the 2020 season. As it stands today, all but one have signed their tender and committed to next season. 

The sole player this offseason to not sign the tender up to this point? Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. 

Ngakoue has been in a struggle with the Jaguars all offseason surrounding his desire to leave the team -- whether it be via trade, free agency or any other route. So far, the Jaguars have yet to give into his demands, but it is obvious from Ngakoue's lac of signing of the tender that he has yet to give in as well. 

"The Jaguars are aware I no longer have interest in signing a long term contract in Jacksonville," Ngakoue tweeted before being franchise tagged in March. "Duval, I love you and gave you guys everything I got. I’m thankful for the journey and look forward to continuing my career elsewhere."

The Jaguars, meanwhile, have long held firm on either standing by silently to let the process play out organically or simply stating the realities of Ngakoue's situation. 

"There is still a process that needs to be played, but I think you all know how we feel about him," general manager Dave Caldwell said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "We want him here, we are going to try and get him here and keep him here one way or another. I will leave it at that.”

Ngakoue, a third-round selection by the Jaguars in the 2016 NFL Draft, has forced the second-most sacks in franchise history (37.5) through four seasons – setting the Jaguars' rookie record with eight as a rookie and setting a career-high with 12.0 in 2017.

Ngakoue recorded eight sacks and four forced fumbles for the Jaguars in 2019. His best season came in 2017, where he recorded a career-high 12 sacks and six forced fumbles and was named to his first Pro Bowl.

While players like A.J. Green, Shaq Barrett, Matthew Judon and nearly a dozen others have either signed their franchise tag tenders or new contracts, Ngakoue and the Jaguars are still waiting to see what the conclusion to their back-and-forth saga is.

"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," Caldwell said when asked about Ngakoue 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.”