Report: Teams interested in trading for Jaguars star Yannick Ngakoue
Yannick Ngakoue has openly asked for the Jacksonville Jaguars to trade him if they are not going to sign him to a long-term extension, and there may still be a chance the star defensive lineman winds up with a new team in 2020.
Teams have expressed interest in trading for Ngakoue, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. However, the Jaguars are not simply going to give the pass-rusher away, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of optimism that their asking price will be met.
To keep an eye on as Wed's deadline grows closer: There remains some interest around the NFL in trading for #Jaguars pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue, I’m told. Would be a difficult, complicated deal to do, but not impossible. For Jax, it would have to make sense compensation-wise.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 14, 2020
The Jaguars placed the franchise tag on Ngakoue earlier this offseason, but he has yet to sign the tender. The deadline for signing franchise tagged players to long-term deals is Wednesday, though it doesn’t seem like there is any chance of Jacksonville and Ngakoue agreeing to a new contract.
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, however, says no one really wants to trade for the 25-year-old.
Ngakoue has averaged just over nine sacks a season since being drafted by the Jags in the third round in 2016. He’s set to make $17.8 million if he plays under the franchise tag this season. It makes sense that there is interest in him, but teams aren’t going to give up a high draft pick when they could just try to sign Ngakoue as a free agent next offseason.
