A new series of tweets from ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter is shedding new light on what is preventing the Jacksonville Jaguars from parting ways with disgruntled defensive end, Yannick Ngakoue. In a nutshell, it sounds like the asking price is high.
Jaguars have spoken with other teams about Yannick Ngakoue, but they only would do what’s in their best interests. https://t.co/DyRP3ftr1t
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 15, 2020
While it appears Ngakoue is more than willing to be flexible with possible suitors, the fact of the matter is the Jaguars have absolutely no interest in dealing him unless a deal is purely beneficial to the team. As mentioned by us here at the Jaguars Wire Tuesday, not much has changed since Ngakoue initially stated on Twitter that his time in Jacksonville was over back in March. During their first post-draft press conference, coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell spoke as if they expected their star defensive end to be a Jaguar, and that expectation does not appear to have changed.
The deadline to reach a new long-term contract for tagged players like Ngakoue is today at 4 pm EST. Without a new agreement, Ngakoue would play on a one-year deal worth $17.8 million in 2020. After only earning approximately $3.4 million on his rookie deal, maybe he’ll have a change of heart, but it feels questionable at this point. However, for now, both sides appear to be locked into their stances waiting to see who will flinch first.