Indianapolis Colts defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (91) talks with IndyStar on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, after training camp at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana. © Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK.
The man has sure encountered an NFL odyssey.
A Former Vikings Pass Rusher Is Available
Yannick Ngakoue is once again available to all NFL teams, cut loose by the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. Baltimore may re-sign the pass rusher to its practice squad, but every other club has the chance to scoop Ngakoue.
Indianapolis Colts defensive end Y. Ngakoue (91) signals to fans during training camp Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. © Robert Scheer/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK.
ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted Thursday, “Ravens are waiving DE Yannick Ngakoue, per source. The Ravens want to re-sign him to their practice squad should he clear waivers.”
Schefter also clarified, “Waiving Yannick Ngakoue clears up a roster spot that the Ravens now can use on RB Keaton Mitchell, who could make his 2024 season debut tonight after recovering from last season's knee injury.”
Denny Medley-Imagn Images.
The NFL's trade deadline just wrapped up Tuesday, and contending teams love adding veteran pass-rushing talent. It wouldn't be weird at all for a team with a winning record to grab Ngakoue and cancel the Raven's PS plan.
These are the Ravens' outside linebackers without Ngakoue:
- Odafe Oweh
- Kyle Van Noy
- David Ojabo
- Tavius Robinson
- Adisa Isaac
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports.
Ngakoue has served as a year-by-year pass-rushing mercenary for hire since his 2020 Vikings stop. Here's his NFL resume to date:
- Jacksonville Jaguars (2016–2019)
- Minnesota Vikings (2020)
- Baltimore Ravens (2020)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2021)
- Indianapolis Colts (2022)
- Chicago Bears (2023)
- Baltimore Ravens (2024)
On August 30th, 2020, Yannick Ngakoue was dealt to the Vikings early on a Sunday morning for a 2nd-Round pick in 2021 and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2022. Ngakoue was at a contractual impasse with the Jaguars at the time, a team in full sell-off mode after reaching the AFC Championship in 2017. The Vikings seized the bait and sought to employ a duo of EDGE rushers that would inspire nightmares, featuring Ngakoue and Danielle Hunter. The combo turned out to be Ngakoue and Ifeadi Odenigbo, not Ngakoue and Hunter.
The Vikings' 2020 pass rush was miserable — the worst in the NFL, in fact. The pass rusher was then traded to these very Ravens in what felt like the beginning of a fire sale as the Vikings stood at 1-5 entering the 2020 bye week. The fire sale never extended beyond Ngakoue, but Minnesota emphatically threw in the towel on the high hopes for its 2020 pass rush. Instead, Odenigbo received more playing time, providing the coaching staff with intel that he was not a long-term starting asset on the defensive line.
