The offseason has always been an interesting time for the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, in 2020 things have taken a turn for the worse. The inner turmoil of this franchise has arisen to national headlines due to the lack of anything better to talk about. One could also credit the spotlight on the Jags to a certain someone having a fit on Twitter a couple times a day.
It’s no secret that Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue wants out of Jacksonville after being franchised tagged by the team back in March. It is also no secret that the Jaguars have no intention of letting Ngakoue just walk out the front door. The team has actively been in discussions across the league seeking proper compensation for the star edge rusher.
Ngakoue was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Over his 4 seasons in Jacksonville he’s produced at least 8 sacks each year and tallied a total of 38.5 sacks (postseason included) during his career. He has also displayed an incredible ability to force fumbles racking up 14 total and even returning one for a touchdown in 2017.
2017 is the year that Ngakoue exploded onto the radar of NFL fans across the country. He was an essential part of the Jaguars defense that carried the team to an appearance in the 2017 AFC Championship where their Cinderella story was cut short by the Patriots in Foxborough. This is where the tragic downfall of the Jacksonville Jaguars begins.
Of the 11 defensive starters on the 2017 roster, only 2 remain active with the Jaguars today: Defensive Tackle Abry Jones and Linebacker Myles Jack.
Now let me tell you as an avid Jaguars supporter that is a very sad sentence to write. The multiple years it took to build the powerhouse 2017 defense were very hard to suffer through. From 2012 to 2017 the Jags were picking in the top 5 of the draft every single year. That season and that playoff run seemed to make it all the losing seasons worth it. The Jags were a top tier team and finally a Super Bowl contender. Or so we thought. Flash forward to the present day and the team is young, lacking leadership and seemingly on the verge of a total rebuild.
Now let’s get one thing crystal clear, Jags Twitter is amazing. The fans of this team are some of the most passionate I’ve ever seen and on social media they never hold any opinions back.
However, this platform is also heavily utilized by Jaguars players. Ngakoue especially uses his Twitter to almost daily remind his followers that he isn’t happy with his current playing situation in Jacksonville. I can’t be 100% sure what his goal is with the constant tweeting but I think it’s safe to assume that he must think all Jags fans suffer from short term memory loss.
This constant social media presence is highly reminiscent of former Jaguar cornerback and now Los Angeles Ram, Jalen Ramsey. He just like Ngakoue felt his eagerness to abandon his teammates was a great thing to display to the whole world. The Ramsey situation did resolve itself over time. Thanks for the two 1st round picks LA. It was good doing business with you.
Honestly, I do think the Ngakoue situation will be resolved soon and that the probability of the Jags finding a deal for him either before or during this weekend’s NFL Draft is high. But, a long term holdout and a refusal to sign his $17.13 million franchise tag is also still in the realm of possibilities.
While this drama is entertaining and all let me tell you, it gets better! Yesterday afternoon is when everything went from crazy to insane.
Let me first preface this with a question: If you were working at a job and you wanted something would you think calling out one of your bosses on the internet about it would help or hurt the situation? While everyone with common sense knows that doing that would definitely make things worse, apparently Ngakoue would disagree.
Seemingly unprompted, Ngakoue called out Jaguars part-owner and senior vice president of football administration & technology, Tony Khan. In a heated exchange of tweets, Khan showed no fear in confronting the obviously frustrated Ngakoue. This argument piqued the interest of many Jags fans including myself. Yannick showed his true colors and just how toxic of a player he has become and I’m sure raised red flags about his character across the league just as Khan suggested.
Throw into the mix the Jaguars putting starting running back Leonard Fournette up on the trade block and there truly is no telling how the dominos will fall in Duval. All we do know is that the draft is quickly approaching and Dave Caldwell, Doug Marrone and the rest of this Jaguars front office are going to have some hard decisions to make very soon.