The Jacksonville Jaguars will go into Thursday’s training camp needing to get a deal done for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. As of Tuesday, they’ll have just over $8.78 million to do so (or make any other transactions), according to the NFLPA’s official site.
The Jags’ total gives them more than seven other organizations in the league and slots them at the No. 24 spot. The good news is that the team has signed all of their rookies unlike a few teams in the league, including their first-round selection Josh Allen.
One potential move to watch out for is rather or not the Jags enlist linebacker Telvin Smith to the reserve/NFI list, which would save the team his base salary of $9.75 million. When adding that with their available cap space it would give the team $18.53 million.
It remains to be seen if Tom Coughlin, Dave Caldwell and company will look to recoup Smith’s base salary heading forward. If they decide to keep him active, Smith could be subject to fines for each day he misses, but it appears he’s made it clear he won’t play football in 2019. That said, it might be wise for the Jags’ front office not to bank on a change of heart and use that money to pay one of the league’s best pass-rushers and a key to their long-term future in Ngakoue.
