This week the Raiders saw one of their former edge rushers hit the waiver wire, potentially giving them the chance to bring him back to bolster their pass rush.
Yannick Ngakoue was waived by the Ravens on Thursday, which means any team looking for a bit of pass rush could put a claim in on him. The New England Patriots were the team that landed him off waivers. And according to ESPN’s Tom Pelissero, the Raiders didn’t put in a claim.
The Patriots were joined by one other team in attempting to claim Yannick Ngakoue: the Bengals.
New England had priority over Cincinnati, otherwise Ngakoue – who was waived just priority to the Ravens defeating the Bengals – would have stayed in the AFC North.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 9, 2024
Ngakoue was signed to a two-year deal by the Raiders back in 2021 and started 17 games for them that season, collecting ten sacks, which was his second best season in his ten NFL seasons.
Even still, the Raiders traded him to the Colts just after the new league year in March of the following offseason in exchange for CB Rock Ya Sin.
Ngakoue spent just one season with the Colts before signing a free agent deal with the Bears, where he also spent just one season. In fact, he hasn’t spent more than one season with a team since he came off his rookie contract with the Jaguars. Strange considering his 70.5 career sacks and the value the league places on pass rushers.