It took about three days, but it appears #HowieSzn may finally be upon us.
Early this morning, the Eagles acquired cornerback Darius Slay from the Detroit Lions for a third and fifth round picks and handed him a new 3-year $50 million deal. Now, rumors are circulating that Howie has his eyes set on another disgruntled defensive playmaker.
Pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue of the Jacksonville Jaguars has expressed his disinterest to stay in Jacksonville ever since the offseason started. To ensure they wouldn’t let Ngakoue walk for nothing, the Jags franchise tagged him so they’ll get assets in return for losing the Pro Bowler.
Even after trading for Slay, Howie still has a handful of valuable draft assets he could offer the Jaguars. With eight total picks, including three in the fourth round, trading more picks to acquire another difference maker on defense is a realistic possibility.
One variable to keep in mind with Ngakoue is his inevitable contract extension. Dealing for him will be similar to how the team just acquired Slay — a new contract may have to be agreed upon before the trade happens.
He won’t be cheap and signing him to a new deal likely means the Eagles will be relatively quiet for the remainder of the free agency period. With his consistent sack production, Ngakoue figures to sign a deal that’ll make him one of the five highest paid edge rushers in football. That means he’ll earn an average salary of approximately $17-$20 million.
It’s a lot of money to fork over, especially given how much money the team already has invested in the defensive line. Howie could throw in one of his defensive ends to make the deal more manageable money wise — perhaps Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry or Josh Sweat.
With the twitter activity surrounding Ngakoue heating up, I’d expect a deal to get done today. Let’s see if Howie has another trick up his sleeve.
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