The Jaguars have found a potential taker for Yannick Ngakoue. However, the suitor currently isn’t willing to give Jacksonville what they want for the franchise-tagged pass rusher.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Jaguars “want too much” for Ngakoue. Hope remains that a deal will be finalized before or during the draft, which starts tonight.
Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com first reported the possibility of Ngakoue to Las Vegas, with the Raiders offering the 19th pick in round one. The Jaguars, per the report, want pick No. 12.
Ngakoue sacked Raiders quarterback Derek Carr twice last December, in the team’s final home game in Oakland.
Last year, the Chiefs got a 2020 second-round pick for franchise-tagged pass rusher Dee Ford in a trade with the 49ers. The Chiefs then gave up the 29th overall pick and a 2020 second-round selection to the Seahawks to get franchise-tagged pass rusher Frank Clark. Both signed long-term deals with their new teams.
A compromise for Ngakoue could happen, with the Jaguars getting the 19th pick and something else, whether it’s a 2021 selection or a flip-flop of later selections in 2020.
Before Ngakoue could be traded, he’d have to accept his one-year franchise tender. Ideally for the Raiders, they’d also work out a new contract with Ngakoue, since they’d get Ngakoue’s rights for one year at $17.78 million. He could be tagged again in 2021, at a 20-percent increase ($21.3 million).
Multiple trades have happened in the past eight months of high-profile players with first-round compensation but without new contracts. Both the Texans (Laremy Tunsil) and Rams (Jalen Ramsey) were criticized for making trades without getting long-term deals done as part of the transaction.
The Raiders have two first-round picks due to the trade that sent Khalil Mack to the Bears. The Raiders didn’t want to pay Mack, the fifth-overall pick in 2014. They may now be paying a stranger to the organization instead, and giving up a first-round pick to get him.
If nothing else, the fact that talks are happening shows that owner Mark Davis has no fear about being on the wrong end of an eventual Twitter fight with Ngakoue.