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Yannick Ngakoue has simmered down in recent weeks about his desire to be traded. Well, the Twitter rants have stopped but he still wants out of Jacksonville.
The Jaguars placed the dreaded franchise tag on Ngakoue back in March and the Pro Bowl defensive end immediately informed the team he wanted to be dealt. He did it in the most public of ways and started a feud with the owner’s son, Tony Khan. Ngakoue frequently teased that he wanted to play in Philadelphia, with his actions and not his words.
Now a key member of the Eagles’ defensive line has given a voice to the possibility. Malik Jackson, who spent two years playing alongside Ngakoue in Jacksonville, was recently asked about a happy reunion in Philly. The pair led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game in 2018.
“Yeah, it would be dope. I say it would be nice but I’m not going to say yes because then that means that we would have to give someone up,” Jackson told the Going Deep podcast. “And that’s one of those things that shakes up our D-line room so I don’t know how that would work, from a front-office standpoint.”
Jackson was reluctant to give a definitive answer on the subject. He knows the Eagles will be struggling with cap space in 2021 and the front office wants to see what they have in Josh Sweat and Shareef Miller. That being said, Jackson clearly was enthralled with the idea of adding Ngakoue and his 37.5 career sacks.
“I think it would be good. I think Yannick brings a great pass rush. I think he’s a stout player in the run, and I think he’s an all-around — you know, he’s already shown that he’s a Pro Bowler over the last four years,” Jackson continued. “He’s had plenty of sacks so I think he’d come here and be a real good asset to this defense, especially with what the defensive coordinator got us out there doing, with what Jim Schwartz has us doing out there, just going straight.”
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Jackson On Track to Hit Training Camp Running
Jackson suffered a Lisfranc foot sprain in Week 1 last season and underwent season-ending surgery. That was it. He was placed on injured reserve after 37 snaps and zero tackles.
According to Logan Banker, Jackson underwent another procedure on Feb. 18 to remove screws placed in his foot during Lisfranc surgery back in September. The hulking defensive tackle has maintained throughout the process that he’ll be ready for training camp. Jackson fully expects to be out there in 2020, versus Washington in Week 1.
“It was a big eye-opening experience,” Jackson told reporters, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Nobody ever wants to get injured, but to be on IR, especially for the whole year, for the first time, it was a lot. But I learned a lot, I learned a lot about myself. Ready to come back next year stronger.”
It was the first major injury of Jackson’s career after playing in 111 regular-season games in eight years. He has 32.5 sacks and 239 tackles (55 for loss) during that span, plus one Pro Bowl appearance (2017) and one Super Bowl title (2015).
The Eagles did sign former Steelers stud Javon Hargrave in the offseason, though. And they made him the highest-paid player at the defensive tackle position. The Hargrove move started speculation that Jackson may not be ready for the start of the 2020 season.
Jackson hasn’t addressed the media to give an official update on his health. For now, all arrows continue to point up. With Jackson, Hargrave and Fletcher Cox lining up on defense, the Eagles should have the best defensive-tackle rotation in football.
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