Raven Country

Ravens Sign Former Star Yannick Ngakoue

The Baltimore Ravens are bringing back an old friend to bolster the pass rush.

Jon Alfano

Nov 1, 2020; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (91) rushes during the second half as Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva (78) blocks at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Nov 1, 2020; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens defensive end Yannick Ngakoue (91) rushes during the second half as Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva (78) blocks at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
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The Baltimore Ravens are signing former Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to an undisclosed contract, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.

Ngakoue, 29, briefly played for the Ravens in 2020 following a mid-season trade from the Minnesota Vikings. In nine games with Baltimore, Ngakoue had just three sacks in one of the less-productive stretches of his career. With that context, it's interesting that he's back for a second go-around.

Since then, the Maryland product has bounced around the league quite a bit. He spent the 2021 season with the Las Vegas Raiders, the 2022 season with the Indianapolis Colts and the 2023 season with the Chicago Bears.

Last season, Ngakoue finished with 22 total tackles, six tackles for loss and four sacks, the lowest total of his career. He also suffered a broken ankle late in the season, leading to him going unsigned throughout the offseason.

All that said, the Ravens took a flier on Ngakoue again for a reason.

Baltimore has a largely unproven set of edge rushers with the notable exception of Kyle Van Noy, who's been a monster with four sacks in the past two games. Odafe Oweh has also shown significant improvement with 2.5 sacks so far, though all of them came against the Raiders in Week 2. David Ojabo and especially rookie Adisa Isaac haven't seen much action this season, though, so if Ngakoue pans out, he could take snaps from those two.

According to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Ngakoue will begin his second stint with the Ravens on the practice squad, which gives him a chance to get back up to speed before actual game action.

The Ravens play host to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football as they look to get back to .500.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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