The Baltimore Ravens have successfully traded for Minnesota Vikings Yannick Ngakoue, adding a crucial piece to the NFL’s stingiest defence.
Ngakoue will arrive at Baltimore in the next 24 hours to go through COVID-19 testing and quickly jump in with his new team amid the preparations for its Week 8 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In turn, the Baltimore Ravens will send a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional fifth-round pick Adam Schefter to the Minnesota Vikings in turn for Ngakoue.
Baltimore is currently leading the NFL in fewest points allowed per game and had long been pursuing a pass-rusher. The Ravens had been attempting to acquire Ngakoue in recent months and according to sources, tried to work a deal for Jadeveon Clowney before the beginning of the season.
Growing up in Bowie, Maryland, Ngakoue had hoped to land in Baltimore all along. He starred at Maryland before being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016.
The Ravens now can put added pressure off the edge by pairing Ngakoue with Matthew Judon, who received the team’s franchise tag.
This continues an aggressive approach by Raven’s general manager Eric DeCosta to add playmakers to the defence.
“We are excited to add Yannick Ngakoue to our football team,” Stated DeCosta. “Yannick is someone who we are very familiar with going back to the draft process years ago. He is an exciting player and a dangerous pass rusher who makes us better. Yannick grew up here. He’s the type of person we welcome in our building. Finally, we are not finished building this team, as we continue to chase our ultimate goals.”
Before the trade deadline last year, Baltimore acquired cornerback Marcus Peters from the Los Angeles Rams for a fifth-round pick and linebacker Kenny Young.
The trade reunites former Jaguars teammates Ngakoue and Calais Campbell, whom the Ravens brought in this offseason for a fifth-round selection. They were on the field together for 1,829 snaps over three seasons in Jacksonville (2017-19) and were the starting defensive ends for the Jaguars in the 2017 AFC Championship Game.
The Vikings had acquired Ngakoue in August by trading a 2021 second-round pick and 2022 conditional fifth-round pick to the Jaguars. Ngakoue, who had been given the franchise tag by the Jaguars in the offseason, agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal with the Vikings — instead of his franchise tender of $17.8 million — to complete the trade.
Ngakoue had five sacks and two forced fumbles in six games this season for Minnesota, but the Vikings have stumbled to a 1-5 start.
