Eagles won’t be trading for Yannick Ngakoue

There was once some thought the Philadelphia Eagles might trade for disgruntled Jacksonville Jaguars edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

Remember this from March?

For those keeping track at home, Ngakoue has now posted pictures of the following Eagles players [on his Instagram story]: Reggie White, Trent Cole, and Brian Dawkins. He also posted a picture of a cheesesteak with a caption about how he’s never had one and needs to try one. At one point Ngakoue also shared a picture that had an eagle emoji in it. He’s either having a lot of fun messing with Eagles fans or he’s really trying to get Howie Roseman to trade for him. Maybe both!

We cautioned that the Eagles trading for Ngkaoue was never very realistic, though.

Ngakoue is a player that should be on the Eagles’ radar given the combination of his age and pass rush production. But, as previously noted, I don’t think the team wants to surrender major draft assets in addition to signing him to a massive extension. Whether you like it or not, the Eagles (read: Jim Schwartz) are high on their defensive end group.

I’ve viewed this Ngakoue situation like the Jadeveon Clowney rumors from last summer. It’s just never felt like a super realistic possibility despite some media members and fans acting otherwise.

Sure enough, the Eagles didn’t end up being the team to trade for Ngakoue.

Instead, it’s the Minnesota Vikings who acquired him. ESPN reports the Vikings gave up “a 2021 second- and a conditional 2022 fifth-round pick that could go as high a third.”

Ngakoue still must sign his franchise tag before the trade can be fully executed but it sounds like that’ll happen. Ngakoue is also expected to restructure his one-year deal worth $17.8 million in order to lower his 2020 cap hit.

Ngakoue is still currently set to be a free agent after this season since the July 15 deadline to extend players on the franchise tag has long passed. Thus, the Vikings are giving up a significant amount for a player they won’t even have locked up to a long-term deal. They’ll hope to be able to re-sign him prior to 2021 free agency.

The Vikings acquiring Ngakoue is bad news for the Eagles since it helps to strengthen one of their NFC opponents. Minnesota already has one elite pass rusher in Danielle Hunter, who’s posted 29 sacks over the past two seasons. Ifeadi Odenigbo also notched seven sacks in just 34% of the Vikings’ snaps last year as a third defensive end. Adding Ngakoue to the mix should only boost the Vikings’ ability to generate pressure. Not the most comforting thought for a team like the Eagles who are already dealing with offensive line issues.

The Eagles aren’t scheduled to play the Vikings in the regular season but the two teams could conceivably meet in the playoffs. Or at least be battling for seeding in the NFC playoff picture.