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.
Jaguars agreed to trade franchise DE Yannick Ngakoue to Minnesota for a second- and conditional fifth-round pick that could go as high a third-round pick, league sources tell ESPN. Ngakoue still has to sign his tender, but trade is in place and Ngakoue is expected to be a Viking.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 30, 2020
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.