Jaguars agree to trade Yannick Ngakoue to Vikings

The Jacksonville Jaguars have finally agreed a trade for Yannick Ngakoue, receiving multiple picks from the Minnesota Vikings

Sunday morning ESPN insider Adam Schefter announced that the Jacksonville Jaguars have agreed to trade franchise tagged defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Minnesota Vikings.

According to Schefter, the Jaguars will receive a 2021 second-round pick and a conditional fifth rounder in the 2022 NFL Draft. The conditional pick could become as high as a third-rounder provided the following criteria is hit.

– The 2022 pick becomes a fourth-round pick if Ngakoue goes to the Pro-Bowl in the 2020 season.
– The 2022 pick becomes a third-round pick if Ngakoue goes to the Pro-Bowl and the Vikings win this year’s Super-Bowl.

Of course, Yannick Ngakoue will have to sign his franchise-tender before any potential trade materializes, and it is expected that he will re-work the $17.8 million cap hit in order to complete the deal. However, these things will likely become a formality later on Sunday and the former Maryland Terp will officially become a Viking.

The former Pro-Bowler held out of this season’s off-season activities announcing as early as March that he had no intentions of continuing his career in Jacksonville. The reason for that was the handling of his contract negotiations prior.

Ngakoue won’t be able to get a long-term deal in 2021 under the franchise tag as the deadline passed for tagged players to get an extension. However, that’s not to say he won’t be with the Vikings for a long time as something can be worked out after 2021. With 37.5 career sacks and 14 forced fumbles he could become one of the richest defensive players in the game under them eventually.

The exodus of Jaguars talent continues this summer, however they now own eight picks in the first five rounds of next year’s draft and are in a strong position to continue the rebuild of their young roster.

ESPN floats out a trade deal for Jags to send Yannick Ngakoue to Browns

With the deadline for him to sign the franchise tag approaching, ESPN proposed potential trade for Yannick Ngakoue involving the Browns.

With less than a month until the Jacksonville Jaguars report for training camp ahead of the 2020 season, their situation with Yannick Ngakoue remains one of the major talking points across the NFL.

After announcing that “his time was up” in Jacksonville in March, the pass-rusher has made no known attempts to reconcile with the organization. In fact, Ngakoue now remains one of only five players yet to sign their franchise tag tender.

With the chances of a long-term deal feeling almost nonexistent, and the former Maryland Terrapin threatening to sit out the season, general manager Dave Caldwell’s leverage is diminishing as we approach the July 15 deadline. In a nutshell, if Ngakoue isn’t going to play for the Jags and isn’t traded by then, the potential in terms of compensation for him will decrease because he’d only be eligible to sign the franchise tag, which is only a one-year deal.

If the Jaguars want to get maximum value from the player, the sensible thing to do would be to trade him before that deadline passes. Since Jamal Adams declared his desire to leave New Jersey, multiple outlets have entertained the idea that the Jaguars should package Ngakoue with a 2021 pick to propose for the All-Pro safety. That being said, any potential deal for Adams remains improbable at best.

However, ESPN’s Field Yates proposed a different deal for the Jaguars to rid themselves of this situation in order to prevent any distractions ahead of training camp. In a recent article, Yates suggested tight end David Njoku and a 2021 second-round pick as compensation to send Ngakoue to the Cleveland Browns.

Approaching the offseason, many would have expected more in return for such a productive pass-rusher, but nothing materialized. That was even the case after a pre-draft Twitter altercation between Ngakoue and son of Shad Khan, Tony Khan, that led to Khan saying the compensation had to be right.

The Jaguars already have an additional 2021 first-rounder after trading Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams last October. That said, adding further capital for the next draft could entice Caldwell as he continues rebuilding this roster for the second time.

As for Njoku, he’d add an interesting option for quarterback Gardner Minshew. Still only 23, the former Miami Hurricane could fall victim to the numbers game in Cleveland after they signed Austin Hooper in the offseason and drafted Harrison Bryant in April. For those reasons, many could view him as a tradable piece.

Njoku broke his wrist early on in 2019 and only played in four games as a result. Still, many saw promise out of him in his first two seasons. The Jaguars have already added Tyler Eifert this offseason, but the oft-injured tight end probably shouldn’t be the only answer at a position that has plagued the Jaguars since Marcedes Lewis left in 2017.

If a trade deal is to happen, the team acquiring Ngakoue will likely have to weigh whether they are comfortable paying him the long-term deal he reportedly wants, averaging $22 million a year. For the Jaguars, however, they would be acquiring a player of significant need for little to no money at all. Njoku’s 2020 salary would be a mere $1.7 million and wouldn’t require an extension until 2022.

While this might not be the most likely trade, this is certainly the type of avenue Caldwell should look to pursue. Any extra capital for the 2021 NFL Draft will be useful, and adding young starters at affordable salaries is going to be vital in his attempt to build a team that can compete for the long-term.

Report: Jags trade Nick Foles to Bears for a compensatory fourth-round pick

A year after signing him, the Jags have moved on from veteran QB Nick Foles and traded him to the Chicago Bears.

Under Tom Coughlin’s leadership, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Nick Foles to the biggest free-agent contract in team history (a four-year deal worth $88 million) in hopes that he’d be a franchise quarterback. Now, a year later, they’ve decided to move on from the veteran.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Jags will be trading Foles to the Chicago Bears and will receive a fourth-round compensatory pick for him. For the 2020 season, the Jags will save a projected amount of over three million towards the cap.

The Jags pranced on Foles last spring after he came off a run in which he replaced Carson Wentz late in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2017 season. He was able to propel them to and through the playoffs and was named the MVP of Super Bowl LII. That seemingly impressed Coughlin and company enough to take a swing on him last March and the rest is history.

Foles’ luck wasn’t as fortunate with the Jags as he sustained a broken collarbone Week 1 of the regular season against the Kansas City Chiefs. As a result, sixth-round rookie Gardner Minshew II had to step in until Week 11. When Foles was able to return from injury, he wasn’t able to find his groove, which resulted in Minshew being renamed the starter Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

By the end of the season, Minshew’s success outweighed that of Foles as the rookie finished the season 285-of-470 (60.6%) for 3,271 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, six picks, and was 6-6 as a starter. He was also named Pepsi Rookie of the Week seven times and was Snicker’s Hungriest Player of the Year for 2019.

Foles, on the other hand, was 77-of-117 (65.8%) for 736 yards, three touchdowns, and two picks. While under center he, unfortunately, wasn’t able to register a win with the Jags and was 0-4 as a starter in 2019.
Foles will now join his former offensive coordinator from the Eagles, Frank Reich, in Indy. It was expected that the Colts would be on the quarterback market, so many felt Foles could be an option for them from the jump.

Foles will now head to Chicago to join former Jags offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, who was also his positions coach in Philadelphia. He’ll likely be replacing current Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who hasn’t met expectations since he was drafted in the first-round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Report: Jags, Colts engaged in trade talks for Nick Foles before Philip Rivers signing

The Jags tried to send Nick Foles off to a divisional rival via trade, but the deal ultimately didn’t go through.

It’s no secret that the Jacksonville Jaguars have at least listened to offers for veteran quarterback Nick Foles, who they signed to a massive contract just a year ago. According to NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo, one of the teams they spoke with is one we suspected in the Jags’ division rivals: the Indianapolis Colts.

Per Garafolo, “draft pick compensation” was being discussed in the deal, too. However, the team ended up signing veteran Philip Rivers to a one-year deal worth $25 million.

This absolutely isn’t a shock that the Jags would reach out to their divisional rivals and is probably an indication of how bad they may want to part ways with the veteran. He has a connection with Indy’s head coach, Frank Reich, who was his offensive coordinator during his Super Bowl run with the Philadelphia Eagles.

With the Colts off the quarterback market, there are still others who could want Foles’ services. One of those teams could be the Chicago Bears, who have two of Foles’ former coaches in Matt Nagy and John DeFilippo. Nagy coach Foles while with the Kansas City Chiefs and DeFilippo, of course, was his offensive coordinator with the Jags and quarterbacks coach with the Eagles.

With veteran quarterback Tom Brady set to sign with the Tampa Bay Bucs, the New England Patriots could be a team to watch as well. They may want a proven veteran to lead them in 2020 and his salary for the upcoming season wouldn’t be unreasonable for them as explained below.

Foles signed a massive four-year, $88 million deal (guaranteeing $45.1 million) with the Jags a year ago. However, he didn’t quite pan out as a broken collarbone sidelined him from most of Week 1 to Week 11 against the Colts. He was benched a few weeks after that return (Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers) in favor of surging rookie Gardner Minshew II after struggling to find his groove. In the end, the veteran finished the season 77-of-116 for 736 yards, three touchdowns, and two picks.

Time will tell what the Jags decide to do about Foles but their willingness to talk with the Colts, a divisional foe, about taking him is telling. It’s also telling of how they probably feel about Minshew’s potential as well.

Leonard Fournette says he’s the ‘Tim Duncan’ of the Jags after surviving recent veteran trades

Leonard Fournette is one of the Jags’ few remaining players from their 2017 run, which is why he feels like a certain NBA legend.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been moving towards a rebuild this offseason, and while some aren’t shocked, others are baffled by it. Count running back Leonard Fournette amongst those puzzled by the Jags’ decisions.

Sunday, the young tailback took to Instagram for a live session where he interacted with the fans while playing “Call of Duty.” A fan asked about the team’s decision to trade Calais Campbell and Fournette simply had no answers. However, he did counter with a bit of comedy by proclaiming that he’s the Tim Duncan of the Jags after surviving a big-time purge over the years.

“I don’t know why they [the Jaguars] are trading everybody,” said Fournette. “I’m here though. Listen, I’m Tim Duncan of the Jags! Believe that! Call me Timmy from now on!”

While Fournette remains one of the few players from the Jags’ 2017 roster which went to the AFC playoffs, it feels like almost no player is off-limits to be traded aside from Josh Allen, D.J. Chark, Jawaan Taylor, and maybe Gardner Minshew II. That said, there haven’t been any reports stating the Jags have shopped him or have been asked about him but that doesn’t mean he’s necessarily off-limits, especially if they were willing to trade a veteran like Calais Campbell, who they probably wanted to keep.

The Jags are also coming up on a decision on rather or not they will pick up Fournette’s fifth-year option. If they did, that would indicate they probably want his services for 2020 at least. They could very well pass on picking up the option, too, and simply observe how well he plays this upcoming season. If he impresses them, they could extend him down the road. If they aren’t impressed, they wouldn’t be invested in him past January and could simply let him hit the open market.

Fournette had a career-year in yards and yards per carry this past season accumulating totals of 1,152 and 4.3 in each category, respectively. Maybe If he can match those stats in 2020 and get in the end zone more, the Jags may elect to stick with the former first-round pick.