Yannick Ngakoue is still holding out from training camp as he tries to pressure the Jacksonville Jaguars into trading him. A report this week claimed that is very close to happening, but the Jags insist it is not.
Michael Lombardi of The Athletic cited sources on Wednesday who claimed the Jaguars are “extremely close” to trading Ngakoue. The New York Jets are believed to be making a strong push to acquire the star pass-rusher, but Jacksonville GM Dave Caldwell told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday that there is no truth to that.
.@Jaguars General Manager Dave Caldwell addresses the trade rumors surrounding DE Yannick Ngakoue…
"If he's being traded, I wish somebody would let me know."
MUST LISTEN | #Jaguars | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/l3eRDJfbir
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) August 20, 2020
“The unsubstantiated report really kind of caught me off-guard, too,” Caldwell said. “I don’t know where it came from or who it came from, but if he’s being traded I wish somebody would let me know. Obviously we’ve had discussions with teams, but as of 1 p.m. (Thursday) that report was pretty erroneous. I don’t know the person who tweeted that, but obviously he didn’t pay very close attention to detail.”
Ngakoue has made it clear that he wants out of Jacksonville, and his representatives have been pursuing trade possibilities. The Jaguars appear to have placed a high asking price on the star pass-rusher that teams are unwilling to meet. The Jags reportedly turned down one trade for Nagkoue that would have landed them a Pro Bowl player.
Ngakoue has not signed his franchise tender, which would pay him $17.8 million this season. He got into a heated Twitter exchange with a Jags executive back in April over what he perceives to be the team essentially keeping him in limbo.
