One of the stories of the week as far as the National Football League goes is Dak Prescott’s decision to sign his franchise tag. He became the ninth player to do so this season leaving only four franchised players who are unsigned.
With the deadline to sign franchised players to a long-term deal coming up on July 15, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is one of those players who remains unsigned.
Whoops! Dak was actually ninth — Broncos S Justin Simmons hasn't signed yet either. https://t.co/YwIu4PbQbO
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 22, 2020
After how the offseason unfolded, it’s no surprise that Ngakoue hasn’t signed his franchise tag and many aren’t optimistic about any sort of deal happening, whether it’s long-term or the tag.
The disgruntled defensive end took to social media in late March to announce that he felt his “time was up” with the Jags. Unfortunately for him, the Jags didn’t feel the same way and franchised him, which caused a saga where the young pass-rusher exchanged blows with son of owner Shad Khan, Tony Khan, on Twitter.
Since that moment, things have been quiet and Ngakoue hasn’t given the Jags any indication that he will be suiting up in teal in 2020, so it appears he’s still hoping for a trade. In a perfect world for the fans, the hope would be for Ngakoue to sign the tag at the least and play with the Jags for a year if there is a season. That, unfortunately, seems unlikely, though as there hasn’t been a lot of momentum for any type of deal.
Another key thing to remember about the July 15 deadline is that it only allows a franchised player to sign a one-year deal past that point. That puts a team that wants to trade for him in a situation where Ngakoue would be on a one-year rental plan. That said, the interest level would be higher if he comes with the flexibility for a long-term deal.
If there is movement surrounding Ngakoue, fans should expect to hear something around the early part of July. If a trade does happen, teams to watch could be the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, and Philadelphia Eagles to name a few.