Jacksonville Jaguars to tag Yannick Ngakoue; what’s next for Buffalo Bills?

The Buffalo Bills seemed like the ideal landing spot for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. However, the reports of the Jacksonville Jaguars tagging the pass rusher could change the Bills’ offseason plans.

The news on Monday morning was not something Buffalo Bills fans wanted to see in regards to defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. It was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Jacksonville Jaguars were going to use the franchise tag on the talented pass rusher.

However the door was cracked a bit when Ngakoue tweeted out shortly before Schefter’s tweet that he would not sign a long term deal with the Jaguars.

This certainly puts the Jaguars in a tough position and their front office must now determine what the best course of action is moving forward. However, for the Bills it is also murkier as they were expected to be one of the teams that would have shown significant interest if Ngakoue was a free agent.

If the Bills front office truly believes Ngakoue is that missing piece for this defense, the tweet he sent out helps their cause. It may make the Jaguars more inclined to trade knowing they won’t be able to sign him long term and only have him for a season that looks to be a rebuilding one for Jacksonville.

The question is what would the Bills be willing to give up and does it align with the Jaguars asking price? If it’s a first round pick, the front office may be more interested in keeping it and drafting a player like Yetur Gross-Matos. While there is some uncertainty in a rookie and he isn’t as much of a sure thing as Ngakoue, it helps them financially.

If the Bills were to trade for Ngakoue, there is still the hurdle of negotiating a long term deal. That new contract would likely end up making him one of the highest paid at his position. While the team can afford it now, there are some young players like Tre’Davious White, Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds that are going to be getting significant pay increases in the coming years.

The other option the Bills have is to target other free agents to address the need. This could mean the Buffalo Bills bringing back Shaq Lawson, who is an unrestricted free agent, or targeting other pass rushers. There are some players on the higher end like Jadeveon Clowney and Matt Judon or they could add a veteran who provide a couple of years of solid production like Robert Quinn or Everson Griffen.

While the news of Jaguars tagging Yannick Ngakoue is disappointing for Buffalo Bills fans, there is still a path to potentially add him or go another direction either through the NFL Draft or free agency.