Since leaving Jacksonville in free agency in the spring of 2020, edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue has played for five teams. He’s hoping to make it a sixth for this season.
Ngakoue, though, remains a free agent.
He made only four sacks and seven quarterback hits in 13 games in 2023 after signing a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Bears. Ngakoue’s season ended prematurely for a second consecutive season when he fractured an ankle in Week 14.
“Honestly, I haven’t really been thinking about an offer or details in specific at all,” Ngakoue told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday. “The only thing I’ve been thinking about is taking that grass again and re-establishing myself on the field as one of the fiercest competitors in the game today. That’s the only thing on my mind. Everything else will come after that. I have to re-establish myself and remind people of why I’m one of the best [pass] rushers. That’s the only thing on my mind.”
Ngakoue, 29, made 37.5 sacks in his four seasons with the Jaguars. His last double-digit sack season — the second of his career — came in 2021 when he totaled 10 with the Raiders.
He made 9.5 sacks in 2022 with the Colts.
Ngakoue waited until halfway through training camp last year to sign with the Bears, which might have contributed to his lack of production.
Ngakoue said he has received interest this offseason, but he isn’t likely to receive an offer as good as the one the Bears gave him a year ago.
“I feel like everything’s going to work out just perfectly,” Ngakoue said. “Like I said, everything happens for a reason. God is a perfect planner, and the end of the day, I’m just focused on myself, just focused on how can I get better, focusing on things that I could have done better last year. At the end of the day, I make no excuses.
“I just hope that I’m somewhere before training camp starts because everyone needs to go through a training camp in order to have the kind of season they want to have. It’s just like a boxer at the end of the day. If you don’t have a proper training camp, you can go into the ring and get knocked out. So it’s all about preparation. The only thing that I’m worried about is being able to help an organization, help out the young guys and guys that are veterans as well to be able to get a Super Bowl ring and just bring great energy to that building wherever I’m at.”
