The Jacksonville Jaguars have an offseason full of questions coming up, but the biggest question is whether they will be able to retain defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. General manager Dave Caldwell told the media that the organization would make signing Ngakoue his top priority last week in his postseason presser, which gave fans a glimmer of hope towards keeping the franchise pass-rusher.
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″I think you guys all know in this room how both Doug and I feel about Yannick through our conversations over the years,″ Caldwell said last Tuesday. ″He is a tremendous player and even a better person. How he handled his business this year was tremendous. But I would say that’s priority No. 1 to make sure he comes back to Jacksonville and that he’s a Jacksonville Jaguar. Hopefully, we can get that done where he’s here for a long period of time.″
While those statements are certainly positive, most understand it will be easier said than done. Ngakoue’s teammate, Calais Campbell, also understands that retaining the young pass-rusher will be difficult, especially after how the Jags handled the situation last offseason.
“Oh yeah, it’s going to be very tough,” Campbell said to Brent Martineau in an interview with Action News Jax. “I mean he’s a very strong-minded person and I would’ve loved to see a deal get done last year where there were no ifs, ands or buts about it. But when you get to free agency, even with the franchise tag, it’s going to be tough. At the same time, I really hope we figure out a way. He is a generational talent and you don’t get them all the time. He can change games and even when he doesn’t play his ball, he still makes a difference in the ball game.”
Campbell’s uncertainty and tone probably won’t give Jags fans a lot of confidence, but if Ngakoue didn’t re-sign with the Jags, one couldn’t blame him. Per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Jags ended contract talks under Tom Coughlin prematurely (within a few weeks) with Ngakoue last summer, which caused him to change his mind about missing some of the Jags’ offseason practices. It’s not certain what the final offer was before things ended, but the report aligns with the timeline in which Tom Pelissero reported the Jags shot Ngakoue a short-term deal worth $19 million annually.
Knowing how much teams overpay in free-agency, Ngakoue undoubtedly understands he could be the highest-paid defensive end in football by a decent margin on the open market. That’s why the Jags will have to come correct with a deal if they want to keep him. As it stands, they will have to make some tough moves to free up cap space to pay him because they are over the cap by $1.51 million.
Some have speculated paying Ngakoue could require Campbell to restructure his deal, something he was reportedly open to through an extension around this time last season. That never happened for the veteran and he played on his deal as scheduled. He made it a point of emphasis that restructuring in 2020 would have to “make sense” by his standards, though he feels he’s worth the $14.5 million he’s scheduled to make.
“Obviously, there has to be communication, that’s just the way it is,” said Campbell. “There was communication in years past and we weren’t able to come to an agreement and that’s ok. Hopefully, if there is communication and we can come to an agreement and we can find something that makes sense for both sides. Do I think I’m worth $15 million still? You damn right. You see these guys getting paid 20 plus million (sic.) a year and they’re incredible players, but I feel like I’m as good as most of these guys getting paid this ridiculous money. I’m not going to go and ask for $20 million. I don’t mind being a $15 million a year guy.”
Campbell’s mention of communication might be an indicator that his camp had a breakdown in discussions about restructuring last season. It could also indicate that the Jags’ offer from last season wasn’t a good one by his standards, and if that’s the case, fans have to wonder if a restructured deal can be agreed upon in 2020.
If there is any silver lining concerning the futures of Campbell and Ngakoue, it’s the fact that Caldwell now can be the main negotiator as opposed to Coughlin. As much as critics (myself included) have given him grief, Caldwell leading the way in contract talks without Coughlin in the way could be a good thing since agents seem to like the eighth-year general manager. He was responsible for getting marquee free-agents like Campbell, Malik Jackson, A.J. Bouye and others signed in the past when the destination was frowned upon, which is an indication that he’s a solid negotiator.
Sure, making the tough decisions that are coming up this offseason will be a tall task for Caldwell, but at least he appears to be strong in a key area that will dictate the near future for the Jags. If he can somehow keep Ngakoue or both him and Campbell, things might be trending upwards for the Jags to have a better campaign than they did in 2019.