On Monday morning, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars plan on slapping a franchise tag on defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, which did not come as much of a surprise.
Afterward, Ngakoue made a very candid post on Twitter:
“The Jaguars are aware I no longer have interest in signing a long term contract in Jacksonville,” wrote Ngakoue. “Duval, I love you and gave you guys everything I got. I’m thankful for the journey and look forward to continuing my career elsewhere. -91”
So apparently, this may have been more Ngakoue's decision than it was the Jaguars.
This means that Jacksonville will almost certainly be trading Ngakoue sometime this offseason, as the Jags are not going to want to lose the pass rusher for nothing in free agency next year.
Ngakoue is coming off of a 2019 campaign in which he played 15 games and registered 41 tackles, eight sacks, an interception, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, six passes defended and a defensive touchdown.
The 24-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Maryland, was originally selected by the Jaguars in the third round (69th pick overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He had an impressive rookie year, logging 23 tackles, eight sacks, a pick and four forced fumbles. He then followed that up with a breakout 2017 season, racking up 30 tackles, 12 sacks, six forced fumbles, a pair of fumble recoveries and a defensive score, en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
Ngakoue had another solid campaign in 2018, totaling 28 tackles and 9.5 sacks.
Jacksonville went 6-10 this past season.
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