Alongside the decision to place weak-side linebacker Telvin Smith on their Reserve/Retired list, the Jacksonville Jaguars also placed defensive end Yannick Ngakoue on their Reserve/Did Not Report list. That leaves the team with a total of 88 players heading into camp.
As most are aware, Ngakoue elected not to report to training camp Wednesday in efforts to get a long-term extension. He reportedly passed on a short-term deal that would make him the fourth highest-paid defensive end annually (at $19 million), however, it appears the deal didn’t offer a lot of security. That said, in all likelihood, he’d prefer a four to five-year deal that guarantees close to the $65 million range like DeMarcus Lawrence or Frank Clark.
With Smith officially receiving a designation to the Reserve/Retired list, his base salary of $9.75 million could be added to the Jags’ current salary cap amount of $8.78 million. That would put them at $18.53 million, which is more than enough for the Jags to up their offer to Ngakoue if they truly feel Smith is out for the season. On the surface, Smith seemingly hasn’t gone out of his way to contact any of the key front office members like Tom Coughlin, Dave Caldwell or Shad Khan, so it would be unwise to bank on a return in 2019.
