3 reasons the Vikings trading Yannick Ngakoue makes no sense
By Dean Jones
Ngakoue is in his prime
Trading away aging players who are past the peak of their powers is one thing. But Yannick Ngakoue is only truly starting to realize his incredible potential.
Whether the player was becoming a problem in the locker room or not is unclear. Ngakoue wasn’t backward in coming forward with opinions on a struggling Jaguars team and the Minnesota Vikings’ poor start to the campaign only lessened their chances of signing the player long-term.
General manager Rick Spielman might not be universally liked, but he is no fool.
Trading for Ngakoue was fine when things looked rosier than they do now. But Spielman has decided to cut his losses and at least get most of the draft capital back for the player rather than risk losing him for nothing next spring.
Ngakoue has been one of the shining lights on a disappointing Vikings’ defense this season. He has accumulated five sacks, seven quarterback hits, and 11 pressures through six weeks of the campaign and there is just no telling how much better the former first-round pick could have become once Danielle Hunter returned to the lineup.
Sadly, we’ll never get to see that scenario play out. This is a big gamble from the Vikings and they’ll be hoping it pays off more than their decision to trade for Ngakoue in the first place.