Yannick Ngakoue no longer wants to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the team plans to keep him around for one more season.
The 24-year-old edge rusher tweeted Monday morning he has no interest in a long-term deal in Jacksonville.
"The Jaguars are aware I no longer have interest in signing a long-term contract in Jacksonville," Ngakoue wrote. "Duval, I love you and gave you guys everything I got. I'm thankful for the journey and look forward to continuing my career elsewhere."
The Jaguars, however, will steal a line from Lee Corso: Not so fast, my friend.
The team plans to use the franchise tag on Ngakoue, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Ngakoue's tweet indicates he could be in for a battle with the front office. The edge rusher skipped offseason workouts last offseason in hopes of a new long-term solution before relenting to playing on the final year of his contract.
A third-round pick, Ngakoue has outperformed his deal in every way imaginable. He outplayed Dante Fowler, a former first-round pick, for three years, and generated 37.5 sacks in four seasons in Jacksonville.
Now he wants the long-term, guaranteed money security that comes with the type of player he's proven to be. The edge rusher owns a dominant first step, is relentless to the quarterback, and still has room to grow. Brinks doesn't own enough trucks to hold all the money Ngakoue would make if he were to hit the open market as a true free agent.
While Rapoport notes that the Jags' plan for Ngakoue to play for them in 2020, a holdout could ensue that potentially leads to a trade. We witnessed Jalen Ramsey force his way out of Jacksonville last season.
Tagging Ngakoue gives the Jags the opportunity to trade his rights to the highest bidder, who -- like Dee Ford and Frank Clark a year ago -- would then pay the pass rusher his new, big-money deal. Would the Jags stand firm and force Ngakoue to play for them or sit out all of 2020 without being paid if he truly wants out?
