Free Agent Yannick Ngakoue Aims to Reclaim Status as Elite Edge Rusher
Yannick Ngakoue Seeks to Reclaim Edge Rusher Status
Since leaving Jacksonville as a free agent in the spring of 2020, edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue has played for five teams and hopes to join a sixth this season. However, he remains a free agent.
Ngakoue signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Bears in 2023 but managed only four sacks and seven quarterback hits in 13 games. His season ended prematurely for the second consecutive year due to a fractured ankle in Week 14.
"Honestly, I haven't really been thinking about an offer or details in specific at all," Ngakoue told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday. "The only thing I've been thinking about is taking that grass again and re-establishing myself on the field as one of the fiercest competitors in the game today. That's the only thing on my mind. Everything else will come after that. I have to re-establish myself and remind people of why I'm one of the best pass rushers. That's the only thing on my mind."
At 29, Ngakoue made 37.5 sacks in his four seasons with the Jaguars. His last double-digit sack season, the second of his career, came in 2021 with the Raiders, totaling 10 sacks. He followed that with 9.5 sacks in 2022 with the Colts.
Last year, Ngakoue signed with the Bears midway through training camp, which may have affected his performance.
Although he has received interest this offseason, Ngakoue isn't likely to get an offer as lucrative as the one from the Bears last year.
"I feel like everything's going to work out just perfectly," Ngakoue said. "Like I said, everything happens for a reason. God is a perfect planner, and at the end of the day, I'm just focused on myself, just focused on how I can get better, focusing on things that I could have done better last year. At the end of the day, I make no excuses.
"I just hope that I'm somewhere before training camp starts because everyone needs to go through a training camp to have the kind of season they want. It's just like a boxer at the end of the day. If you don't have a proper training camp, you can go into the ring and get knocked out. So it's all about preparation. The only thing that I'm worried about is being able to help an organization, help out the young guys and veterans as well, to get a Super Bowl ring and just bring great energy to that building wherever I'm at."
| POLL | ||
30 MAI | 43 ANSWERS Free Agent Yannick Ngakoue Aims to Reclaim Status as Elite Edge Rusher Do you think Yannick Ngakoue will return to double-digit sacks this season? | ||
| Yes | 25 | 58.1 % |
| No | 18 | 41.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
