Yannick Ngakoue Reportedly Receives Franchise Tag from Jaguars

It appeared earlier this offseason that Yannick Ngakoue was going to leave the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead, he'll be remaining for at least one more year after Jacksonville franchise-tagged the defensive end Friday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Ngakoue will earn $17.13 million next season.

Ngakoue and the Jaguars seemed headed for a standoff this offseason after the defensive lineman publicly stated he wanted out in early March, and ESPN's Adam Schefter followed that up by reporting the Jags planned on hitting him with the franchise tag:

Ngakoue sat out 11 days of training camp a year ago amid a contract dispute with the team, and a reprisal seemed likely.  

The 24-year-old has been a force in his four seasons, accumulating 37.5 sacks and 14 forced fumbles. He posted 41 tackles (13 for loss), eight sacks, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception in 15 games last season. 

It would have been a major misstep for the Jaguars to lose such a talented and productive player, much as they did with wide receiver Allen Robinson and Dante Fowler Jr. in recent seasons. Keeping Ngakoue was an important move.