Several weeks after the veteran edge rusher market’s ice began to thaw when Leonard Floyd and Frank Clark found new homes, Yannick Ngakoue and Justin Houston reached agreements to continue their careers. The Bears and Panthers, respectively, signed the veteran sack artists; each team, however, considered both players.
Rumored to be eyeing a veteran edge player opposite Brian Burns for the past two offseasons, the Panthers stood down on that front in the wake of Haason Reddick‘s 2022 exit. They did not do so this year, giving Houston a one-year deal worth $6MM guaranteed. The Panthers gave Houston more money compared to the 12-year veteran’s second Ravens pact (one year, $3.5MM), but they still did not want to meet Ngakoue’s asking price.
Ngakoue ended up collecting $10MM guaranteed from the Bears, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes the Panthers viewed this as too steep. In Houston, the Panthers will go with a player six years older but one who matched Ngakoue’s 2022 sack total (9.5) during his second Ravens season. Houston also loomed as a Bears consolation prize of sorts, with Fowler adding he was Chicago’s backup plan in case the team could not move Ngakoue’s asking price down to a level it deemed reasonable.
The Bears had eyed Ngakoue for a while, but Fowler adds the team spent time talking the seven-year vet down from a $13MM-per-year price point and had believed he wanted a multiyear deal. When Ngakoue changed agents earlier this year, a multiyear pact was indeed believed to be on his radar.
Marcus Davenport signed a one-year, $13MM deal ($10MM guaranteed) earlier this year, and Ngakoue’s production dwarfs the former first-rounder’s. Ngakoue is the only player riding a streak of seven straight eight-plus sack seasons. The former third-round pick began that surge to start his career in 2016. That said, Ngakoue has been viewed as a pass rush specialist of sorts; his issues in the run game undoubtedly led to the former Jaguars draftee/franchise tag recipient needing to wait until August before catching on somewhere.
Ngakoue, 28, will anchor the Bears’ edge-rushing corps. He had said previously landing with a surefire contender would not be a requirement for his latest free agency. While Ngakoue sought a deal that matched his 2021 Raiders AAV — from a two-year, $26MM contract that ended up being sent from the Raiders to the Colts — he still outperformed Floyd, Clark and Houston on the market. The Bears are not eyeing a designated pass rusher role for the well-traveled sack artist, with Matt Eberflus confirming (via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns; subscription required) he views Ngakoue as an every-down player.
Former Raiders defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, whom Eberflus regards as a mentor, gave the second-year Bears HC a strong Ngakoue endorsement, Jahns adds. Marinelli, who coached Ngakoue in 2021, also factored into the veteran edge choosing Chicago. Of course, the Bears’ eight-figure guarantee likely provided the biggest push here.
As the Bears and Panthers made key additions to their edge corps, Jadeveon Clowney remains unsigned. While Robert Quinn, Melvin Ingram and Carlos Dunlap are also unattached, Clowney is much younger — at 30 — and lines up as the top outside rusher available.
I have a feeling Clowney will be sitting this season out, after what he pulled in CLE.