Jaguars Officially Place the Franchise Tag on Defensive End Yannick Ngakoue

Fourth-year defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has had the non-elusive franchise tag officially placed on him, paving the way for a tag and trade.

Despite defensive end Yannick Ngakoue sending a warning shot to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, the team has still gone forward with its plan to prevent him from walking in free agency as the club announced Friday that they would place the non-exclusive franchise tag on the 24-year old pass-rusher.

We have placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on @YannickNgakoue

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) March 13, 2020

The franchise tag for defensive ends is valued at $19.3 million in 2020, an astronomical raise for the 2016 third-round draft pick who, according to Spotrac, has earned only $4.67 million since entering the league.

Last week, Ngakoue tweeted that he had no interest in signing a long-term deal with the Jaguars despite Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell publicly stating on more than one occasion that they wanted Ngakoue back in 2020.

"The Jaguars are aware I no longer have interest in signing a long term contract in Jacksonville," Ngakoue tweeted. "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 had until 11:59 a.m. Monday to place the tag on Ngakoue, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 18.

"There is still a process that needs to be played, but I think you all know how we feel about him," 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 has hinted in the past that he is not interested in playing under the franchise tag in 2020, so it remains to be seen if he signs it. He could go the routes of Le'Veon Bell, who refused to sign the franchise tag and sat out a season in 2018, or Jadeveon Clowney, who refused to sign the franchise tag when the Houston Texans placed it on him, leading to the Texans to trade him to the Seattle Seahawks. 

By tagging Ngakoue, the Jaguars now have until July 15 to sign Ngakoue to a long-term contract, extending their window to work out a deal with the player who has the second-most sacks in franchise history. If Ngakoue signs the tag but a long-term deal isn't reached, he will be on a one-year deal in 2020.

He has recorded 37.5 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, and 42 tackles for loss in 63 career games. He has 62 career starts and has only missed one game due to injury.

Ngakoue is reportedly seeking $22 million annually in a new deal, which would make him the highest-paid defensive end in the NFL. In 2019, he recorded eight sacks and four forced fumbles. 

There is a chance the Jaguars may have tagged Ngakoue in hopes of working out a trade with another team for his services. Three such instances occurred in 2019 with Clowney, Dee Ford, and Frank Clark all being tagged before they were traded.