Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone told the media that he expected full participation in this week’s mandatory minicamp after communicating with all of his players, but it appears one of them had a change of heart. Per ESPN insider Adam Schefter, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue will not attend the three-day process as he looks to get his contract situation resolved.
Ngakoue, 24, was drafted by the Jags in the third-round of the 2016 NFL Draft and signed a four-year deal with the team. Since, he’s established himself as one of the league’s best pass rushers under the age of 25, racking up 81 career tackles, 29.5 sacks and 10 forced fumbles.
Despite Marrone’s belief that Ngakoue would be at mandatory minicamp, his decision isn’t a shocker after both DeMarcus Lawrence of the Dallas Cowboys and Frank Clark of the Kansas City Chiefs broke the bank this offseason. Lawrence’s deal was a five-year deal worth $105 million with $65 million guaranteed, while Clark signed a five-year deal worth $104 million with just over $62.3 million guaranteed.
The big thing that may cause a dilemma in contract talks with Ngakoue may be his abilities against the run, which is a category most would say Lawrence and Clark are stronger at. For what it’s worth, they’ve also been more active tacklers with 133 and 120 total tackles, respectively, in comparison to Ngakoue’s 80.
Regardless, it’s clear the yongu pass-rusher has out played his contract and has done everything the team has asked of him. Additionally, he’s a player who could be one of their leaders of the future as they’ll likely be without Marcell Dareus and Calais Campbell at some point within the next three years.
Per Over the Cap, the Jags have just over $9.3 million available in cap space.
