Although he was glad to be back with his teammates, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue made it known that the Jacksonville Jaguars front office could’ve signed him had the numbers been right on their offer (or offers) upon his return Sunday. He also elected not to go into details as to whether contract discussions would continue into the preseason as he’s currently on the last year of his rookie contract.
As most are aware, the Jags reportedly shot at least one offer to Ngakoue and his camp worth $19 million annually, but it’s worth noting that the deal was a short-term offer in which the total guarantees were unknown. Regardless as to what the offer details were, it clearly wasn’t what Ngakoue was looking for and now it’s back to Square 1.
With Ngakoue now at camp, there are some who feel the Jags may be more open to contract discussions. If so, the young pass rusher told the media he knows his worth, which to him may be along the lines of a four or five-year deal worth around $63 million in guarantees are more.
“At the end of the day, I know my value, I know my worth, that’s all I can say,” Ngakoue said Sunday, “It doesn’t matter about anybody else knowing my value, show it each and every year.”
Needless to say, that’s the same mentality that got Ngakoue where he is today, and I wouldn’t put it past him to add a career year to his resume in 2019. If that happens on the last year of his rookie contract, his value would sky rocket and fans could be looking at a situation in which the Jags might have to use the franchise tag in 2020.
