March 19, 2020

Live NFL free agency updates: Eagles reportedly interested in Jags DE Yannick Ngakoue

By Matt Mullin
PhillyVoice Staff

The Philadelphia Eagles have already made a pair of moves to bolster their defense this offseason — first signing Javon Hargrave and then trading for Darius Slay — and they might not be done yet.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Eagles are reportedly interested in acquiring Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, the top passer rusher on the market.

Heard the Eagles have a lot of interested in this guy, among others https://t.co/OlH9CkfGG8
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 19, 2020

And if they want to make a deal happen, it's going to cost them. Earlier this offseason, the Jags placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Ngakoue, which means he'll make a projected $17,788,000 million this season, according to OverTheCap.com. And then there's the price the Eagles would have to pay in trade compensation.

Ngakoue has already made it well known that he wants out of Jacksonville, and that certainly hurts the Jags leverage in any trade discussions, but here's a look at what two similar players cost via trade in recent offseasons, via Jeff Kerr of CBSSports.com.

If the Jaguars are forced to trade Ngakoue, they can receive quite the trade compensation for him. Based on the market for pass rushers last offseason, the Jaguars could cash in with the right deal. The Kansas City Chiefs traded a 2019 first and third-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for franchise-tagged defensive end Frank Clark (and a 2019 third-round pick) last offseason, which also included a 2020 second-round pick. The San Francisco 49ers traded a second-round pick for defensive end Dee Ford. Both Ford and Clark signed huge deals with their new teams after their respective trades: Ford five years, $87.5 million and Clark five years, $105.5 million ($63.5 million guaranteed). Ngakoue is expected to rival what Clark received from Kansas City. [cbssports.com]

That price, however, would only work if the Eagles are able to ink Ngakoue to an extension after the trade.

For those wondering if there's any truth to the rumor — or if Ngakoue would be interested in signing long-term with the Eagles — well, there's this...

🤔 #Eagles pic.twitter.com/upJcfZ6obd
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) March 19, 2020

And this followed shortly after...

Interesting IG story from Yannick about 7 min ago ... pic.twitter.com/07wu8oAImt
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherNFL) March 19, 2020

As Jimmy Kempski pointed out yesterday when Dante Fowler tweeted an eagle emoji with "56Birdz" before signing with the Falcons, "there are a lot of bird teams."

But this more recent post from Ngakoue is a little less ambiguous.