It appears the needle hasn’t moved far on Yannick Ngakoue’s chances to get out of Jacksonville. Last month the disgruntled defensive end made his desire to leave the Jaguars known by taking to social media to inform the football community that his “time was up” with the organization.
Fast-forward to two weeks later, and general manager Dave Caldwell had no new information to offer the media after speaking with them Wednesday about the upcoming draft.
“We’re a week away from the draft, and we’ve exercised a franchise tender,” Caldwell said. “He’s yet to sign it. Other than that, I don’t have a whole to add. Out of respect for him and his team and our team, I think it’s best that when I have news for you guys to let you guys know where we’re at.”
If there are any teams who truly want Ngakoue, it wouldn’t be surprising to see things heat up soon because we’re a week away from the draft. That was the same message that NFL insider Ian Rapoport had for us when we spoke with him many weeks ago.
“I think the main thing to do is look around in free agency and say, ‘Who didn’t pick up the edge rusher that they wanted?’ That’s what these trades [for star pass-rushers] are becoming,” said Rapoport.
“That was the case with Frank Clark last year going from Seattle to the Chiefs. It was draft week, either Tuesday or Wednesday. It was a last ditch effort like, “Alright, lets get this done to eliminate a hole before the draft.” That’s what the Chiefs did, and ended up winning the Super Bowl. I think Frank Clark probably helped on that. So it’s really just whoever didn’t sign an edge-rusher.”
A draft-day trade shouldn’t be ruled out either.
Caldwell’s lack of new news also could be a sign that Ngakoue may end up staying on the roster as it’s been stated that Jags owner Shad Khan would prefer to keep him. If Ngakoue escaped the franchise’s clutches, that wouldn’t be a good look on Khan’s part because it would give off the perceptions that players could just leave the organization as they wanted. That said, the cost for Ngakoue is probably a first-round pick and another top-3 round selection.
In the end, they may get an offer like the one the Seattle Seahawks received for Frank Clark in 2019 from the Kansas City Chiefs, which was a first for the upcoming draft, a 2020 second-rounder, and they switched 2019 thirds. To expect anything better might cause the Jags to end up empty-handed, but Jags fans should certainly watch this situation with a close eye over the next seven days.