The Baltimore Ravens made a splash before the 2020 trade deadline, acquiring defensive end Yannick Ngakoue from the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick. Baltimore made the move to help improve their pass rush and to also get some more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Ngakoue didn’t have the impact that many expected him to have while with the Ravens, and was thus not brought back by the team in the 2021 offseason. He signed a two-year, $26 million fully guaranteed deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, who will be Baltimore’s Week 1 opponent in primetime on “Monday Night Football”. When Ngakoue found out that he’d be facing his former team in Week 1, he tweeted out a single emoji.
— Yannick Ngakoue (@YannickNgakoue) May 12, 2021
Baltimore’s game against Las Vegas will be their first of five primetime games, the maximum number allowed for a single team. Ngakoue will look to show the Ravens what they missed out on by not re-signing him, while Baltimore will look to continue their Week 1 dominance, as over the last four seasons they’ve outscored their Week 1 opponents 164-19.