Changing Message from Yannick Ngakoue

No longer does sack machine Yannick Ngakoue say he wants to play for a title contender and instead hopes to just get a job.

USA Today

It's possible defensive end Yannick Ngakoue could be back in play for the Bears, if he ever was or wasn't.

Ngakoue had told SiriusXM NFL Radio he wanted to join a contender back in the spring but Bears writer Brad Biggs of the Tribune reported a source with a team "monitoring the edge rusher market" as saying Ngakoue wanted a contract from $8 million to $10 million a year. Players who signed after that point have been taking much less, Leonard Floyd $7 million and Frank Clark $5.5 million on one-year deals according to Spotrac.com.

The Bears can't be considered a contender and whether they would pay something from $8 million to $10 million for an edge rusher when they have four defensive ends on the roster remains to be seen. Obviously, Ngakoue would be a step up from the edge rushers they have but the Bears do have three defensive ends known for playing the run and also the pass, and Ngakoue's deficiencies against the run are well known.

However, as camp approaches for every team, it seems Ngakoue's tune is changing.

"Any team in the NFL is an ideal landing spot for me," Nagkoue said on the Jim Rome Show. "It's a blessing to be able to work any job in the NFL. Being able to go and practice with a team, go through walk-throughs, go through film study, it's a blessing. It doesn't matter what organization in particular."

There couldn't be a louder dinner bell ringing for the Bears than that comment.

Ngakoue switched agents during the offseason to Drew Rosenhaus, and he has had a long and usually solid relationship with the Bears over the years. At least there haven't been a large number of standoffs between Rosenhaus and the Bears. Rosenhaus is wide receiver DJ Moore's agent.

Either way, the Bears are looking at Trevis Gipson, who had three sacks last year and 10 for his career, DeMarcus Walker and his 19 1/2 sacks for six years in the NFL and Rasheem Green and his 17 sacks for five years. They also have second-year Dominique Robinson, who has 1 1/2 sacks after a full season, and Terrell Lewis, the former Rams player with six career sacks for three seasons.

Ngakoue is entering his eighth season and has never had less than eight sacks for a full season. Three times he had eight, twice 9 1/2 including last year, he had 12 in 2017 with Jacksonville and 10 in 2021 with the Raiders.

Ngakoue is looking for his seventh team in eight seasons and is 28 years old. He's easily the best younger pass rush option on the market at this point and played for the Colts last year. He didn't play in Matt Eberflus' scheme when he was Indianapolis defensive coordinator, though, as he joined the Colts last year.

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