Las Vegas Raiders Urged To Pursue Former Pro Bowl Pass Rusher

The Las Vegas Raiders could use some depth at edge rusher behind Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox sees a perfect target for them: Yannick Ngakoue.

Ngakoue is one of the top remaining free agents available and can probably be had on an affordable one-year deal. After all, he has played for five different teams since 2020.

The 29-year-old spent the 2023 campaign with the Chicago Bears, playing in 13 games and logging 22 tackles and four sacks.

Ngakoue, who played his collegiate football at the University of Maryland, was originally selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

He got off to a solid start in his rookie year, registering 23 tackles, eight sacks, an interception and four forced fumbles. Then, the following season, Ngakoue broke out, racking up 30 tackles, 12 sacks, six forced fumbles, a couple of fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.

Ngakoue has yet to match that production ever since, but he has remained a solid pass rusher throughout his NFL tenure.

From 2018 through 2021, Ngakoue tallied at least eight sacks in every season, topping out at 10 with the Las Vegas Raiders in the latter campaign. He spent four years in Jacksonville overall before making his way to the Minnesota Vikings in 2020, but he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens midseason.

Ngakoue also played for the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, where he finished with 29 tackles, 9.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

It’s somewhat surprising the Washington, D.C. native is still available given his lifetime production, but perhaps teams have been a bit scared off by his decline in 2023.

We’ll see if the Raiders place a call to Ngakoue in the coming weeks.