Getty DE Yannick Ngakoue of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears signed pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue to a one-year, $10 million contract in August, but one prominent NFL insider believes the veteran defensive end won’t be re-signed by the team in 2024.
In his weekly “Football Morning in America” column for NBC Sports, insider Peter King noted that Ngakoue, whose 2023 season is over after he suffered a broken ankle during Chicago’s Week 14 win over the Detroit Lions, will very likely be wearing a different jersey in 2024.
“In the last four calendar years, since Dec. 18, 2019, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has played for six teams. The teams, and number of games for each over the past 48 months: Jacksonville 2, Minnesota 6, Baltimore 11, Las Vegas 18, Indianapolis 15, Chicago 13,” King wrote on December 18.
“There’s a good chance that Ngakoue, 28, who went on IR in Chicago last week with a broken ankle, will play elsewhere in 2024. That would be his seventh team in five calendar years. He would be 29 years old,” King added.
A Look at Yannick Ngakoue’s Stats With Bears in 2023
Yannick Ngakoue in 13 games with the Bears
4.0 sacks
22 tackles
6 TFL
34 total pressures (2nd on Bears)
26 hurries
11 run stops
The Bears edge rusher had been playing a lot better since the arrival of Montez Sweat in Week 9. And having both Sweat and Ngakoue allowed Chicago to…
The 6-2, 246-pound DE was a Pro Bowl selection while with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017, his second season in the league. As King noted, Ngakoue has been a journeyman of sorts, playing for six different teams over his eight seasons in the NFL. The Jags drafted him in the third round in 2016, and he had amassed at least 8.0 sacks per season every year prior to this one.
Ngakoue started 13 games for the Bears this season, and he finished with 22 tackles (six for loss) and 4.0 sacks. Per Pro Football Focus, the 28-year-old DE had 26 hurries and four quarterback hits in 408 pass rush snaps.
Prior to acquiring Ngakoue, the Bears did not have a dominant pass rusher, but that changed when Chicago traded for Montez Sweat. The addition of Sweat has helped the defense in myriad ways, and Ngakoue was one of many players to benefit from the trade. Two of Ngakoue’s 4.0 sacks came in Sweat’s first five games with the Bears.
It’s unfortunate he went down with an injury for the remainder of the season, as his numbers would have surely been higher had he played in the team’s final five games.
“Just wanted to compliment him on him being a true pro all the way through. Really helped our young guys the entire year and just want really credit him for that and really appreciate him being a great teammate,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said about Ngakoue December 13, after announcing the veteran DE was done for the season.
2024 Free Agency Promises to Be Loaded With Promising Pass Rushers
🚨 EVERY BRYCE HUFF SACK THIS YEAR 🚨
Ngakoue turns 29 years old in March 2024, and with players like Danielle Hunter, Chase Young and Bryce Huff all hitting free agency next offseason, it’s likely the Bears are going to try to add another top-tier pass rusher to put opposite Sweat.
Bears insider Brad Biggs reported in November that Hunter would likely be a top free agent target for Chicago next season. Brad Spielberger of PFF has Hunter projected to sign a three-year, $65 million deal ($40 million guaranteed). Spielberger has Huff inking a three-year contract worth $40 million ($28 million guaranteed) and he projects Young inking a one-year, $15 million deal (fully guaranteed).
With younger and/or more productive options available, it’s far more likely Chicago will pursue one of them instead of re-signing Ngakoue.