Eagles fans woke up on Sunday morning to the news that defensive end Yannick Ngakoue would not be playing for their team in 2020 — and likely not anytime soon after that.
According to multiple reports the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings have completed a trade that will send Ngakoue to Minnesota in exchange for a 2nd-round pick in 2021 and a conditional-5th round pick in 2022 that could go as high as a 3rd-round pick.
To make the deal happen, Ngakoue will reportedly take less than the $17.788 million he is owed in 2020 on his franchise tag. Instead, he will sign a one-year, $13.5 million deal.
The deal is now done, but as is the case whenever a big-time player is traded, the debate on whether the Eagles should have made the trade has just started.
Here are some thoughts on the Vikings, not the Eagles, landing Ngakoue:
** Cap space is likely the top reason the Eagles likely didn't try to top the Vikings offer. The Eagles have around $24 million in cap space right now, but are projected to be around $72 million over the cap in 2021, according to OverTheCap.com. Even if Ngakoue would have taken the same amount of money ($13.5 million) to play for the Eagles in 2020, that still would have eaten up over half of their remaining camp space. Bringing in Ngakoue would have changed the Eagles' rolled over cap space from 2020 to 2021 from $24 million to around $11 million. For a team that has a big hole to dig out of in 2021, losing that much cap space just wasn't an option.
** Outside of the $13.5 million the Eagles would have had to pay Ngakoue this season, the defensive end would have also been in line for a huge contract next offseason as well, one that will likely make him one of the highest paid defenders in the game. The Eagles likely won't be handing out any huge deals next offseason, which is likely why they decided not to deal any assets for Ngakoue now.
** The Eagles cap situation in 2021 has now cost them not one, but two elite-level players. We will never know if the Houston Texans would have taken a deal from the Eagles for DeAndre Hopkins, but considering Hopkins was going to want a deal making him the No. 1 wide receiver in the game, the Eagles likely never had a real chance of getting him — and once again, the salary cap is a big reason why. With big-money, top-of-the-market deals already handed out to Carson Wentz, Fletcher Cox, Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks and Darius Slay, the Eagles are likely done handing out big-money deals to new players for the foreseeable future.
** Speaking of big-money deals, there is also the contract negations with Zach Ertz to take into account. If the Eagles were to bring in Ngakoue, and hand him $13.5 million, how would that look to Ertz, who has been in line for a new deal all offseason but still hasn't been handed one? The Eagles do take into account how other players in the locker room might react to new contracts, and it is safe to say that the contract negotiations with Ertz were on their minds when debating deals for either Hopkins or Ngakoue.
** Money aside, there is no getting around the fact that 2nd-and-5th round picks for Ngakoue is a steal. There are not many, if any, young defensive ends in the NFL with a brighter future or better resume than Ngakoue. The Eagles are in desperate need of a young, stud defensive end to take over when Brandon Graham eventually moves on. Derek Barnett is not looking up to the task. Ngakoue would have been.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
