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It’s been a unique offseason for fans of every NFL team, and in particular the fans of the Seattle Seahawks have hoped for a big splash from the team when it came to improving the pass rush. The Seahawks were among the worst teams in the league when it came to pressuring and sacking the opposing quarterback in 2019, and many felt the best way for the team to address that would be by bringing Jadeveon Clowney back while also adding another big name into the fold.
Unfortunately for Seattle fans, many of the names that had been hoped for early in the offseason were tagged, including Shaquil Barrett, Matthew Judon and Yannick Ngakoue. However, hope remained for a tag and trade situation, much like the one which brought Clowney to the Hawks in 2019, so fans remained hopeful.
However, with just six days until roster cuts are due by 4 PM New York Time on Saturday, 9/5 and just two weeks before the first Sunday of Week 1, Clowney remains unsigned and one by one other pass rushers have become unavailable. Just over two weeks ago, one of the names that was near the top of the list for Hawks fans, Everson Griffen, signed with the Dallas Cowboys, and in the early morning hours of Sunday, another name has been crossed off the list of available pass rushers.
Yannick Ngakoue and the Jaguars will have to coordinate today when he is going to sign his tag so he can be traded to the Vikings, and Minnesota is expected to have to create more salary-cap space to fit in his contract. But Ngakoue’s time in Jacksonville is over, as he hoped. pic.twitter.com/roxgDbyLMO
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 30, 2020
Thus, Yannick Ngakoue will not be suiting up for the Jacksonville Jaguars this fall, and the price tag paid for his services by the Minnesota Vikings is not huge. The Vikings are sending their 2021 second round pick, along with a conditional 2022 fifth round pick that could improve to as high as a third round pick if conditions are met.
The conditions on the 2022 fifth round pick are described by Tom Pelissero below.
The 5th-round pick in 2022 can become a 4th (if Ngakoue is a first-ballot Pro Bowl pick) or a 3rd (first-ballot Pro Bowl pick and #Vikings win the Super Bowl).
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 30, 2020
In Minnesota Ngakoue (25) will be paired with Danielle Hunter (also 25, turns 26 in October), on a defensive line that could wind up a force to be reckoned with in the years to come if the Vikes wind up extending Ngakoue. Since he entered the league in 2016, Ngakoue has recorded 37.5 sacks, which is the 12th highest total in the NFL in that time period, while Hunter has recorded 48.5 sacks, the third highest total in that period.
In short, the Vikings now have a scary pair of bookend pass rushers that Seattle fans are scheduled to see in action in Week 5, when the Vikings visit Century Link Field on October 11.
*UPDATE*
The details of how the Vikings made this trade work in regards to the salary cap have now been made public.
The Vikings and DE Yannick Ngakoue worked overnight on an adjustment to his franchise tender, landing at a little under $13 million. That's down from $17.778 million. And Minnesota made clear its intention to do a long-term deal in '21.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 30, 2020
So ... Ngakoue REALLY wanted out of Jax.
Still awaiting word on whether the Vikings will retain the right to use the franchise or transition tag on Ngakoue following the conclusion of the 2020 season.