The Jacksonville Jaguars have not only endured a tough season in terms of their record, but they’ve also taken a lot of losses in terms of key players. It all started when they parted ways with Dante Fowler Jr. by trading him last October, then they parted ways with veterans Tashaun Gipson and Malik Jackson this offseason. They traded Jalen Ramsey after a heated and drawn-out saga, and now the defense is heading towards a season in which the unit will need to go through a rebuild.
One key player who has managed to stick around through the Jags’ recent overhaul is defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who will be playing his last game on his rookie contract Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. His situation past this year is one that definitely concerns fans when looking at how the organization has handled things with their key players, and Ngakoue may have added more concerns Friday.
In a post on his personal Instagram page, Ngakoue posted a picture of him moving in to sack New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, which isn’t out of the ordinary. However, the post was captioned with with a message that read “One more Ride. All praises to you Lord,” which naturally raised the eyebrows of many fans
When asked to provide some clarity on what he meant by former Jags cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Ngakoue replied by calling Week 17’s game a “victory lap,” which might be a clue about just how rocky Ngakoue’s relationship is with the Jags higher ups.
Ngakoue has long expressed his desire for a new contract, but that unfortunately didn’t happen this offseason. The team briefly went into negotiations with Ngakoue’s camp in July, but according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, those discussions quickly went downhill because of front office executive Tom Coughlin. As a result, Ngakoue was angered and elected to miss some organized team activities and training camp.
Now, here we are five months removed from those discussions and it appears little progress has been made. Heading forward, the Jags will have to figure out who will be the key figures in their front office, and once that’s done, Ngakoue should be their top priority. With the Jags lacking stars, it would be wise for the Jags to retain Ngakoue as young productive pass rushers don’t grow on trees.