The Raiders took a big swing in free agency Monday at position of need, agreeing to terms with defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
Ngakoue, regarded as one of the top pass rushers available, had eight sacks last season for the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings. A veteran of 78 games and 70 starts since 2016, Ngakoue played four seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars before being traded to Minnesota last season. A third-round pick out of Maryland in 2016, Ngakoue doesn’t turn 26 until next month.
The agreement was first reported by NFL Media and confirmed to the Bay Area News Group by a team source. The negotiating period began Monday morning, and players can’t sign contracts with new teams until Wednesday at 1 p.m. (PDT).
A third-round draft pick out of Maryland in 2016, Ngakoue’s rookie season with Jacksonville was also the final season Raiders defensive coordinator Gus Bradley was the Jaguars’ head coach.
The deal, terms of which were not available, was first reported by NFL Media and confirmed to the Bay Area News Group by a team source.
Ngakoue’s path to the Raiders began last March 2, when he took to Twitter announce he no longer wanted to play for Jacksonville and got into a social media argument with Tony Khan asking for a trade over being given the franchise tag. He wanted out bad enough that he agreed to take $12 million from Minnesota rather than the $17.8 franchise tag figure in order to be traded for a second-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick. After six games with the Vikings, Ngakoue was sent to Baltimore in for a second-round pick and additional sixth-round selection.
The Raiders finished 29th in the NFL in sacks in 2020 with 21, with defensive end Maxx Crosby leading the way with seven. The defense has been poor rushing the passer ever since Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears before the 2018 season following a protracted contract holdout.
Pass rushers went off the board quickly in the first several hours of free agency, as Shaq Griffin (Tampa Bay), Romeo Okwara (Detroit) and Markus Golden (Arizona) all signed with their original teams. Matthew Judon, a teammate of Ngakoue’s in Baltimore, signed with New England for a deal reportedly worth a maximum of $56 million over four seasons.
Ngakoue, at 6-foot-2, 247, is suited to play the “Leo” position in Bradley’s defense, lining up with his hand on the ground on the side opposite the tight end with a primary role of rushing the passer. Crosby will get plenty of snaps, while Clelin Ferrell, a first-round draft pick in 2019, can play as the strong side end or inside as a tackle on pass rush downs.
In five seasons, Ngakoue has just one season with double-digit sacks with 12 in 2017 for Jacksonville but in no season has he had less than eight.
