Dave Caldwell on Yannick Ngakoue Situation: ‘I Think His Options Are Very Limited’

After months of taking a conservative approach to the Yannick Ngakoue situation, Dave Caldwell held nothing back on Thursday night.

For months, the Jacksonville Jaguars have been on a collision course with disgruntled defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. The hope for at least Ngakoue's side was this back and forth dispute would be settled by April 23, with the Jaguars working out a deal to trade the fifth-year pass-rusher for draft compensation. 

But Thursday night came and gone, and no deal for Ngakoue was made. The Jaguars were seeking high compensation for the 25-year-old star, and that high compensation, at least in the short-term, evaporated when the 32nd pick was submitted Thursday night without a deal on the table.

There were rumors ahead of the draft that the Las Vegas Raiders had explored a potential trade for Ngakoue, who the Jaguars placed the franchise tag on in March (Ngakoue has yet to sign the tender). 

But general manager Dave Caldwell pointed out following Thursday's first-round that not only was the Raiders rumor false, but the Jaguars never even got an official offer.

"As far as that goes, I try not to comment too much on the situation. I try to be very pragmatic about it. Truth be told, we exercised the franchise tender. We weren’t able to get a trade," Caldwell said. "Actually, weren’t even really able to get an offer."

Ngakoue, who just this week erupted on social media and targeted Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan with vitriol-filled tweets, has stated numerous times this offseason that he no longer wants to play for the Jaguars. He has seemingly become increasingly frustrated as the offseason has progressed due to a lack of a trade, or even any momentum for a trade. 

With the 2020 first-round over, the best the Jaguars could get for Ngakoue is a second-round selection or a 2021 first-round pick. For a rebuilding Jaguars team, it is unlikely they would be comfortable with unloading one of their most productive players for a pick in 2021, leading to a lack of options for Ngaoue. 

And those lack of options isn't unrecognized by the team who currently holds his fate in their hands.

"So, I think his options are very limited at this point in time," Caldwell said. "We’ll welcome him back with open arms when he’s ready to come back and we look forward to it. Yann, for the people on this call and who have been around him realize he is a tremendous player, tremendous person, has always been first-class in everything he’s done here in the locker room and through his time here, the first four years of his contract."

Ngakoue's entire beef with the Jaguars is the fact that the team failed to sign him to a contract extension in the 2019 offseason, when the two sides first engaged in talks about a new deal. The talks quickly fell apart as the Tom Coughlin-led front office failed to make any concessions for a player who was still under contract.

"What happened between me and Jacksonville is very simple. The organization had an opportunity to keep me long term last offseason, things kind of broke off," Ngakoue said on ESPN this month.

Caldwell is cognizant of Ngakoue's quips, and even notes he isn't even necessarily wrong to be upset. But he also stated the Jaguars have tried to sign him, and at the end of the day he may not have many other options in 2020 than to play for the Jaguars.

"Obviously, he feels things have not gone the way he wanted and, in some aspects, he may have a point," Caldwell said. "But we put our best foot forward not once, but twice. I hope he sees the light that Jacksonville is a good spot and it could, at the end of the day, be his only option.”

This is a strong statement from Caldwell considering the fact that he has gone the entirety of the offseason without making strong statements on Ngakoue and his disgruntlement. When asked about Ngakoue since the season ended, Caldwell had either opted to say there were no updates or to say he was confident a deal would get done. 

But all of that changed on Thursday night. Caldwell drew the line in the sand for Ngakoue, making it clear that the Jaguars believe they hold all of the leverage in this situation. 

Whether Ngakoue suits up for the Jaguars in 2020 remains to be seen, but with no trade on Thursday, it may eventually be his last option.