Yannick Ngakoue has yet to report to the Jaguars, but this is at least a step in the right direction. Jags GM Dave Caldwell says that he has spoken to the defensive end in recent days (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). Still, Caldwell isn’t sure whether he’ll actually show up to camp. 

[RELATED: Jaguars’ Ngakoue Fires Agent]

“That’s for [Ngakoue] to discuss,” Caldwell said.

Ngakoue canned his agent on Monday, signaling his dissatisfaction with the way the offseason has played out. Presumably, Ngakoue is mostly frustrated with the Jaguars, but he also expected his reps to help facilitate a trade that would take him elsewhere.

Ngakoue spent months pushing for a lucrative long-term extension. Then, he pivoted to a trade demand. Shortly before the franchise tag extension deadline, Ngakoue let the rest of the NFL know that he would be willing to table contract talks and play on his one-year, $17.88MM tender. Still, nothing came of that concession. The Jaguars still wanted something significant in exchange for the 25-year-old and no one was willing to pay sticker price.

Evaluators are split on Ngakoue’s true value. On one hand, he’s a young talent at a premium position who has notched at least eight sacks in each of his four NFL seasons. On the other hand, his pressures-to-sacks ratio doesn’t add up. Trading for Ngakoue means coughing up draft capital for a rather expensive rental and waiting until next offseason to discuss a new deal. Meanwhile, plenty of proven edge rushers remain on the market, and can likely be had for less. Jadeveon Clowney, for example, would probably take less than ~$18MM at this point.

The Jaguars still have the ability to trade Ngakoue, and he doesn’t have to join the team until he inks his tender. But, at this point, it might make sense for Ngakoue to bury the axe.

Yannick Ngakoue has parted ways with his agent (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). The defensive end will now look for a new rep, who will be the third agent of his career. Per league rules, Ngakoue must wait at least five days before hiring a new agent.

Ngakoue is set to play on his one-year, $17.88MM franchise tender. He’s been extremely vocal about his desire to get out of Jacksonville but his market has been depressed by a number of factors. The Jaguars have received multiple trade offers for the defensive end, but none of them have been to their liking. Apparently, Ngakoue feels that a new agent can help bring a deal together.

Regardless of where Ngakoue winds up, he’ll have no choice but to sign and play on the one-year tender. After that, Ngakoue and his team will be formally barred from hammering out an extension until next year.

Although the extension ship has temporarily sailed, there is precedent for a player changing teams in this scenario. Last year, the Seahawks waited until August 31 before shipping Jadeveon Clowney to the Texans. At last check, the Jaguars were seeking a first-round pick – plus more – for Ngakoue. They’ll almost certainly have to scale back their asking price for a deal to come together. Theoretically, a 2021 third-round pick would at least give them something, a slight upgrade over the 2022 third-round compensatory pick they’d get by allowing the youngster to walk.

The Jaguars had nearly perfect attendance for the start of training camp. Of course, there was one conspicuous absence – Yannick Ngakoue. Addressing reporters on Thursday afternoon, head coach Doug Marrone confessed that he has not spoken with the star defensive end. 

[RELATED: Jaguars Wrap 2020 Draft Class]

“But, like I’ve said before: He’s one player that I know is always ready,” said Marrone (via the team website).

Ngakoue has not signed his franchise tender, so he is not running afoul of any contractual obligations. Per the terms of the tag, Ngakoue can sign anytime before Week 10 and still suit up in 2020. If he waits any longer, he’ll have to sit out. Furthermore, he’ll lose an accrued season towards free agency. There are a lot of hard feelings between the 25-year-old and his team, but there are also a lot of dollars at stake. Between his $17.788MM salary and the riches that could await him next March, it’s possible that Ngakoue could reverse course and cave on his demand.

Of course, if you ask Ngakoue, he’ll tell you that the ship has sailed on reconciliation. Before the deadline, he was willing to table extension talks for any team that’s able to pull off a trade, but the Jaguars’ sky-high asking price has warded everyone off. At one point, Ngakoue wanted his big payday to come in Jacksonville. Now, he says that he doesn’t want to play for the Jaguars under any circumstances.

Now that the deadline has passed, both sides are formally barred from hammering out an extension until next year. That, in theory, could make it easier for them to mend fences. Still, the Jaguars have the ability to trade Ngakoue, and he can continue to play a game of chicken with Marrone & Co.

Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is still drawing trade interest around the league as the deadline draws near, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. There are also still many roadblocks to a potential deal, including the Jaguars’ lack of interest in actually parting ways with the young edge rusher. 

The Jags and Ngakoue are effectively playing a game of chicken at this point. Ngakoue wants out, and he’s reportedly prepared to sit out the entire 2020 season if he doesn’t get the trade he wants. Plenty of teams would like to add Ngakoue, but they’d have to cough up significant compensation and give him a payday to match, or at least approach, his free market value. That likely means a deal in excess of $100MM, with a large chunk paid up front, plus guarantees. That’s an especially tough sell in the current climate.

Teams may also be skittish about Ngakoue’s ability to reproduce his previous sack totals. The former third-round pick has posted at least eight sacks in four of his five pro seasons, but he finished just 25th in pressures last year (51), per Pro Football Focus. Other metrics like ESPN’s pass rush win rate and double-team rate also portrayed him as less-than-elite.

The Raiders gave the Jaguars a ring during the draft, but the talks didn’t get too far. The Eagles were eyeing Ngakoue earlier this year, but even before the pandemic, they were facing a 2021 cap crunch.

As you probably know by now, Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue wants out of Jacksonville. He is not inclined to sign his $17.788MM franchise tender, and while he wants a new contract with an average annual value in excess of $20MM, he does not want to sign such a contract with the Jags.

We heard yesterday that the 25-year-old is still pushing for a trade, but given the amount of draft capital Jacksonville has asked for in the past — in addition to the fact that an acquiring team would have to pony up a $100MM+ payday, a tough sell in this COVID-19 climate — a trade does not seem especially likely at this point. However, a burying of the hatchet between player and team seems equally unlikely, and Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network is hearing that Ngakoue could sit out the entire 2020 season (video link).

A key point here is that Ngakoue just finished his rookie contract and has yet to sign a second professional deal. Although the new CBA is harsher than its predecessor with respect to holdouts, those stricter provisions only apply to players who hold out after having signed a contract as a veteran. So while a full-year absence would toll Ngakoue’s service time, it seems he can hold out through training camp and a chunk of the regular season without worrying about mandatory fines and losing an accrued season.

A young pass rusher like Ngakoue is a hot commodity in today’s NFL, but as it stands right now, if he wants to play this season and earn a paycheck, he will have to do so with the Jags. Of course, an injury and/or more clarity with respect to the 2021 salary cap could make a rival club more inclined to discuss a trade, and it sounds like Ngakoue is willing to wait.

They say that time heals all wounds. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, that doesn’t apply to their ongoing saga with Yannick Ngakoue. With two weeks to go before the franchise tag extension deadline, Ngakoue’s stance remains unchanged (Twitter link via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com). The defensive end still wants a trade and still doesn’t want to sign the one-year tag.

[RELATED: Five Franchise Tagged Players Have Yet To Sign Tenders]

The Jaguars claim that they’ve tried to mend fences with the 25-year-old. GM Dave Caldwell has also claimed that they haven’t received any offers for Ngakoue. Translated, that probably means that they haven’t been offered enough to part with the young edge rusher.

Ngakoue has registered at least eight sacks in each of his four pro seasons, including a career-high 12.5 sacks in 2017. Plenty of teams would surely like to add Ngakoue, but they’ll only part with so much in the way of draft capital, because acquiring Ngakoue also means giving him a lucrative long-term deal in line with the market.

Ngakoue wants to join the $20MM+ defensive lineman club, but he doesn’t want his induction to come in Jacksonville. For now, he’s facing a one-year, $17.788MM tender that he also says he doesn’t want. If they can’t work things out by the deadline, Ngakoue figures to hold out through training camp at the very least. The threat of a holdout could extend into September as well, but that would be costly in the short-term and the long-term. A full-season holdout would delay Ngakoue’s potential free agency by another year and recreate the same problem in 2021.

The Eagles, Seahawks, and Browns have been keeping their eyes peeled for DEs, but no team wants to commit mega dollars to players with the possibility of major cap restrictions after this year. Besides, the Eagles’ 2021 cap situation is cramped as is, and the Seahawks are running low on available funds for the current year.