Signing Yannick Ngakoue felt like the final dab of whipped cream on the sundae for the Chicago Bears’ off-season. GM Ryan Poles had addressed every possible issue up to that point. He’d found a #1 receiver (D.J. Moore), invested in the offensive line (Nate Davis and Darnell Wright), reinforced defensive tackle (Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, and Zacch Pickens), and overhauled the linebackers (Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards). The only job left unfinished in the eyes of fans and experts was his inability to add a pass rusher.
Ngakoue seemed like the obvious choice. The 28-year-old has 65 career sacks, with at least eight in every season he’s played. He even had ties to defensive line coach Travis Smith. Yet for weeks, nothing materialized. It wasn’t like the Bears lacked the funds. They had more salary cap space than any team in the league. Not until the second week of training camp did a deal finally come together. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN finally revealed some key details on why it took so long.
“The Bears had eyed Yannick Ngakoue for a while before eventually signing him to a one-year, $10.5 million deal last week. A few reasons a deal took time: Ngakoue and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, were looking for up to $13 million at one point, which was a non-starter for teams. The Bears also were under the impression that Ngakoue wanted a multiyear deal. The sides eventually found a middle ground. Justin Houston was a backup option for Chicago.”
Yannick Ngakoue got a solid deal out of it.
While he didn’t get the $13 million he sought, he did get $10 million fully guaranteed for the 2023 season. Conversely, the Bears got some protection by keeping it to a one-year deal. That way, if Ngakoue flops for whatever reason, they won’t be committed to him long-term. It’s understandable why the veteran had hoped for a multiyear contract. He has played for five different teams in his NFL career. Chicago will be his sixth. Moving from city to city like that can be taxing. He’d prefer to put down roots somewhere.
Maybe a strong outing this year might convince the Bears to extend him long-term. He did say it felt like he was always destined to play for Chicago, given the bear tattoo he has on his hand. Yannick Ngakoue doesn’t need to overthink anything. As long as he does what they brought him here to do, the city will embrace him. All it would take is sacking Jordan Love on opening night, and everything will be good. Still, it’s fascinating to see how many factors played a part in negotiations.
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