The Buffalo Bills should try to make one final pitch to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a trade for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue but the window is closing to get a deal done.
Entering this offseason, one of the top free agents at defensive end was expected to be Yannick Ngakoue. The Buffalo Bills had a need at the position and the two sides seemed like a perfect match.
However, that all changed when the Jacksonville Jaguars used the franchise tag on their young pass rusher, essentially restricting him from negotiating with any other team. Ngakoue made it clear that he would not sign his franchise tag.
Let’s agree to disagree . Why hold a man from taking care of his family. It’s obvious my time is up in my current situation. Let’s both move on @Jaguars 🏁 https://t.co/XvGcSAQQkH
— Yannick Ngakoue (@YannickNgakoue) March 31, 2020
The deadline to work out long term deals with players on franchise tag is today at 4 PM and while it doesn’t look like Ngakoue wants to sign a long term deal with the Jaguars, if a team were to trade for him the deadline would apply to that new team.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, there are still teams that are willing to make a deal for the defensive end.
To keep an eye on as Wed's deadline grows closer: There remains some interest around the NFL in trading for #Jaguars pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue, I’m told. Would be a difficult, complicated deal to do, but not impossible. For Jax, it would have to make sense compensation-wise.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 14, 2020
Buffalo Bills should try to make one final pitch to the Jacksonville Jaguars
While the Buffalo Bills did sign Mario Addison and drafted A.J. Epenesa in the second round, they could still use youth at defensive end. Addison is not a long term answer at 32 years of age and their other starting defensive end, Jerry Hughes, is not far behind at 31.
The reason a trade Yannick Ngakoue makes sense is similar to the thought process the team went through for trading for Stefon Diggs. The Buffalo Bills knew they had a need for a number one wide receiver and based on where they were picking, along with the players likely on the board, a player like Diggs was the most talented. He also could make an immediate impact unlike a rookie who would face a learning curve.
A trade for Yannick Ngakoue at this point in the offseason that would include a first round pick brings with it a little more risk. This is mainly due to the fact that the Buffalo Bills don’t know where they will be picking in next year’s NFL Draft.
However, a case can be made that Yannick Ngakoue is a better option because he has already proven to produce at the NFL level with at least eight sacks in each of his four years in the league.
If the Buffalo Bills were to make a trade for Ngakoue and include a first round pick, then there is no question that a trade would need to include the defensive end agreeing to a long term deal. That window is quickly closing with the 4 PM deadline but if they were able to work out a deal, this would not only make the Buffalo Bills defense better in 2020 but solidify the pass rush for years to come.