Yannick Ngakoue Lashes Out at Jaguars Exec. Tony Khan on Twitter

Yannick Ngakoue went to the University of Maryland to play football where he was a defensive end. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round, pick 69 in 2016. Ngakoue has been playing with the same team so far in his career. Then, in early March 2020, he got fed up with what the management has done with them. He went to Twitter to express his frustrations.

His awards and stats he has received in the NFL so far are:

• Pro Bowl (2017)
• PFWA All-Rookie Team (2016)
• Total Sacks: 122
• Sacks: 37.5
• Forced Fumbles: 14
• Fumble Recoveries: 3
• Interceptions: 2
• Pass Deflections: 9
• Defensive Touchdowns: 2

On March 13, 2020, the Jaguars placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him, offering $17.8 million for the 2020 season. He found the offer insulting and declared he longer wanted to play for the Jaguars. Dave Caldwell, the general manager, told the 25-year-old he has no leverage if he plans to play football next season. Last season, Ngakoue earned $2.025 million after staging an 11-day holdout during training camp. Unable to secure a lucrative deal of his liking, Ngakoue took to Twitter, stating he wanted to be traded. Last summer, he was offered $19 million per year but decided to decline the contract.

In April 2020, he took to Twitter to call out Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan saying he was hiding. The conversation got pretty heated fairly quickly.   

After this happened, Ngakoue challenged Khan to let the world know the truth behind the scenes. The two agreed back in December that the game against the Chargers would be his final game as a Jaguar. After that, Ngakoue accused Khan of trying to “backdoor the situation” while avoiding calls from his camp.

Khan replied that tweeting insults at him wouldn’t get him traded any faster, implying that he is willing to deal him. Other clubs have talked trades with the Jags but no offers have been made to date. The Jags have wanted a first-round pick for him.

Ngakoue posted again on Twitter, spinning it forward to his future franchise, perhaps as a sign to turn the page. “To my new future team whomever it may be. I can’t wait to bring great discipline, integrity, and work ethic to that new city. Wherever I may land, you’re going to get the hardest working defensive end in the league!” he wrote.

Brett Mahnke, a Fan of the NFL said, “I really don’t think he should call out the owner on twitter. I think he should have went to his office to have a one on one conversation with the owner about how he wants to be traded. The other NFL teams might not want to trade for him if he has that type of attitude.”

Although Khan and Ngakoue exchanged some words back and forth on Twitter to try to clear up the situation, Ngakoue still wants to be traded. The ownership still might keep him as they like his play. This is a good example of how social media is probably not the best way to handle business. Regardless, many are waiting to see where Ngakoue will end up.