The Jacksonville Jaguars are going to hit Yannick Ngakoue with the franchise tag. The story was reported by ESPN. There’s just one problem with that. Ngakoue wants nothing to do with the organization. The former Maryland product made it clear he will not sign a long term extension with Jacksonville and wants out. I guess you can’t blame him. Jacksonville is two hours from going to London full time anyway.
Ngakoue, 25, will earn about $19 million playing on the franchise tag in 2020. Given the Tweet above, I doubt he ever signs the tag unless he’s traded. Jacksonville would be smart to take that route ASAP. The longer this carries on, the lower Ngakoue’s value will be. Regardless, the odds look slim that 91 will suit up for the Jaguars in 2020.
Ngakoue skipped most of OTA’s and mandatory minicamp last year looking for a new deal. He wanted Nick Foles’ money and a deal never came to fruition. The Foles deal never made sense at the time so it’s hard to blame the player for wanting to match that. Now he wants totally out. For what it’s worth, this is a really good player. Jacksonville shouldn’t have a hard time finding a trade partner for Yannick Ngakoue.
In just 4 years, Yannick Ngakoue is 2nd on the all-time sack list for the Jaguars with 37.5. He also ranks 4th in the NFL over that time in forced fumbles with 14. He’s not just a sack artist. This is one with ball production. Even harder to find guys like that. Teams always need pass rushers and teams will try like hell to trade for this dude. Franchise tag or not.
