The Jacksonville Jaguars are a week removed from making the biggest trade in franchise history after shipping cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams for a first-round pick in 2020 and 2021, and a fourth-rounder in 2021. However, with him now gone, many fans have turned their attention to the team’s next best player under the age of 24: Yannick Ngakoue.
Like Ramsey, he was selected in the 2016 NFL Draft and has yet to be extended despite being named a Pro Bowler and accumulating over 30 career sacks in four seasons. That has caused concerns when looking at the front office’s history of letting the good players they’ve drafted go. However, there is still time for the Jags to lock up one of their best players before it’s too late and gets to the point of no return, which might be as soon as 2020.
Here are the three reasons why the Jags need to extend Ngakoue as soon as possible:
Because parting ways with Jalen Ramsey freed up a lot of cap space in the future, which gives them the flexibility to overpay
With Ramsey gone, fans can look at it as though the Jags have a lot of money freed up for the future. If Ramsey remained a Jaguar, they were eventually going to have to make him the highest-paid cornerback in football. That most likely would’ve driven Ramsey’s deal upwards of Xavien Howard’s, which was a $76.5 million deal guaranteeing $46 million and averaging over $15 million (a league-high) a year. Washington’s Josh Norman also is playing on a deal that guarantees a league-high of $50 million, which Ramsey was going to exceed, too.
However, with Ramsey gone, that steep contract is no longer the organization’s problem. On top of that, the Jags will have Blake Bortles off their books in 2020 and there is the potential to free up over $38 million in addition to the $4.3 million they are projected to have by cutting veterans like Marcell Dareus, Jake Ryan, Geoff Swaim and Brandon Linder amongst notables. So in a nutshell, the Jags can structure a deal now that will take care of itself in the future, even if they “overpay” him slightly. After all, he’s been consistent enough to justify overpaying him, unlike some players they Jags have signed in the past.
Some will be quick to point out the fact that Ngakoue and his agent passed on a short-term deal this summer, but a player of his caliber has earned the right to inquire about better offers. Besides, if the reported deal with an unknown guaranteed amount (which was approximately a two or three-year deal worth $19 million annually and $50 million over two years) was on the table before talks broke off, it’s hard to imagine that both sides were that far off. This is pure speculation, but adding a year or two to the contract is probably all that may be needed, as he’s shown the consistency (when healthy) to warrant a long-term deal more than anyone on the roster.
Because losing a second member to the 2016 draft class would terrible for Shad Khan and the organization
The Jaguars’ infamous 2016 class (Ramsey, Myles Jack, and Ngakoue) is one that good or bad franchises would do backflips for, and most would agree the class was just what the doctor ordered for a struggling franchise. It’s a shame that Ramsey, who is the best player of the class, couldn’t remain on the roster, but that’s now in the past. The team needs to do what they can to salvage arguably the best class in franchise history.
Some would argue that the current front office may not have a reason to extend Ngakoue with their futures uncertain, especially if they have to overpay, but that couldn’t be further from the truth because there is an unwritten rule that they have to do what’s best for the franchise regardless. Even if that rule didn’t exist, Khan should want and demand the current regime to get a deal done because it would make the Jags the laughing stock of the league if they lost Ngakoue, who is the second-best player from their 2016 class, in addition to Ramsey.
Simply put, Khan wants to make the Jags a world-class organization. Letting two players of Ramsey and Ngakoue’s caliber go would make the organization look like the complete opposite and would give players a reason to question Khan as an owner.
Because he represents what the Jags’ (any) front office wants in a player and has been a true professional
Ngakoue is the type of player any team would want, and there aren’t a lot of bad things fans can say about him in all honesty. That’s especially the case for the Jags. He seems to want to be in Jacksonville (something fans questioned about Ramsey), he wants to be a team leader, loves winning (even in the preseason) and works hard.
… Wait, why isn’t this guy re-signed to a long-term again?
Anyhow, to put it simply, those are all the traits Coughlin and the front office claim they want in a player. Most importantly, he’s been two of Coughlin’s favorite words: available and durable.
Sure, his production hasn’t been the strongest, but teammate Calais Campbell told the media last month that Ngakoue is basically playing on one leg. In other words, he’s still recovering from the hamstring injury that sidelined him Week 2, which to date is the only game he’s missed in his four-year tenure with the Jags. This is something coach Doug Marrone has applauded, and it’s now time for Coughlin, Dave Caldwell and Khan to do the same.
Despite his injury, Ngakoue is on the field gutting it out. He made a big-time play this past Sunday, which made the Jags win against Cincinnati look better than it would have initially because before that moment the score was tighter than it should’ve been. That said, if all the aforementioned reasons aren’t enough to get the Jags back into negotiations, then I don’t know what a player has to do to earn a respectable deal.
