Ngakoue lashes out at Jaguars ownership

Yannick Ngakoue wants the Jaguars to trade him

Star pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue was involved in a Twitter spat with Jacksonville Jaguars executive Tony Khan on Monday, as he again put public pressure on the team to trade him.

The Jaguars placed the franchise tag on Ngakoue earlier this offseason but the 25-year-old has made it clear he sees his future elsewhere.

Last month he said on Twitter it is “obvious my time is up in my current situation” and urged the Jaguars to “move on”.

He stepped up his efforts to engineer his exit from Jacksonville on Monday, tweeting “#FREEYANN”.

Ngakoue followed that up by tweeting: “Tired of the back and forth @Jaguars. Let’s get this s*** done.”

He then tweeted directly at Tony Khan, who is the son of owner Shahid Khan and the team’s senior vice president of football administration and technology, and told him to “stop hiding”.

That drew a response from Khan.

“I’m not in hiding sir,” Khan tweeted. “I’m in isolation getting ready for the draft. I’ve been pretty active on social media in isolation, but you wouldn’t know that since you unfollowed me (again).”

Ngakoue then accused Khan of ignoring his camp’s calls and called him “spoiled”.

“It’s a new regime here sir,” Khan tweeted in response. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the contributions you made here. That said, tweeting insults at me won’t get you traded any faster. Only good trade compensation will do that. Please redirect your efforts into a more productive outlet.”

In response to that, Ngakoue tweeted: “Just trade me. I don’t need the speech.”

Khan replied: “Show me the compensation. I’m sure you’re really driving up the price today by the way.”

Ngakoue has totalled 37.5 sacks for the Jaguars since they selected him out of Maryland in the third round of the 2016 draft.

The Jaguars are moving on from Marqise Lee

Meanwhile, the Jaguars released wide receiver Marqise Lee on Monday.

Lee reportedly is healthy after playing only six games with three receptions for 18 yards in 2019. He missed the 2018 season after tearing multiple ligaments in his left knee in the preseason.

The 39th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Lee was one of two second-round receivers drafted by Jacksonville – Allen Robinson was the 61st overall pick – in the same year the team selected quarterback Blake Bortles third overall.

Lee, 28, has 174 career receptions for 2,184 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Jaguars also released running back Taj McGowan, who did not see any action as a rookie in 2019.