Yannick Ngakoue has made it clear that he wants out of Jacksonville, but the Jaguars continue to play hard ball with their star defensive lineman.
Ngakoue’s representatives have been speaking with teams about a possible trade and long-term contract extension, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Jaguars have not shown a willingness to trade the pass-rusher. Ngakoue has also expressed a willingness to play for a new team without a long-term agreement in place.
An update on Jaguars’ franchise DE Yannick Ngakoue: pic.twitter.com/Nhj1MdrtDC
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 15, 2020
Schefter added that the Jaguars have spoken with other teams about Ngakoue, but they are only going to do what is in their best interest. At this point, it seems like the Jags are asking for an unrealistically high return and don’t want to give in to Ngakoue’s demands.
It makes sense that there is plenty of interest in Ngakoue, as he has averaged more than nine sacks per season since being drafted in 2016. However, the 25-year-old is set to make $17.8 million under the franchise tag in 2020, so teams don’t want to give up a high draft pick for him when they could just wait and try to sign him as a free agent next year.
Ngakoue 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. The team said at the time that no one really wanted to trade for Ngakoue, but the issue appears to be about asking price more than anything else.
