The biggest question heading into Jacksonville Jaguars training camp was whether Yannick Ngakoue would attend, and it appears we now have an answer. Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the fourth year veteran will continue to hold out in efforts to land a new deal. This comes after a report surfaced by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, which stated contract talks had broken down between both sides.
Ngakoue, 24, is currently on the last year of his rookie deal and is set to make just over $2 million. Since being drafted in the third-round of the 2016 NFL Draft, he’s done nothing but put heat on the quarterback, accumulating 29.5 sacks in three seasons while starting in 47 games. He also was voted to the Pro Bowl after the 2017 season.
With DeMarcus Lawrence and Frank Clark getting deals that guarantee over $63 million this offseason, Ngakoue is in all probability looking for something in that range, if not slightly higher. Although the Jags are limited to just over $9 million in cap space, they could still make a deal happen by structuring his deal like Clark’s, which would make Ngakoue’s cap hit a minimal amount of around $6.5 million on the season. Afterward, the cap figure would rise tremendously over the next three or so years, but the young edge rusher has clearly earned it.
Another solution the Jags could exercise is placing Telvin Smith on the reserve/NFI list list as he announced he’ll sit 2019 out. By doing so they’d add his base salary of $9.75 million to their salary cap, giving them more than enough for an extension on Ngakoue’s end.
