The Baltimore Ravens' defense is much worse than it was last season, as the combination of losing Mike Macdonald and a few starters from 2023 has taken a big chunk out of their overall effectiveness. Baltimore was so needy for pass rush talent that former Pro Bowler Yannick Ngakoue was recruited to help out.
With Jadeveon Clowney now in Carolina and rookie Adisa Isaac struggling to stay healthy, Ngakoue, who has played under John Harbaugh during the 2020 season, was brought in to provide some juice on the outside. Still just 29 years old, Ngakoue may have some gas left in the tank.
While there was some production during his first few games with the Ravens, it wasn't enough for Baltimore to consider keeping him on the active roster long-term. Getting back Keaton Mitchell, who adds speed to the ground game, was seemingly a better move for this roster.
The Ravens decided to waive Ngakoue to clear up a spot for Mitchell now that he is fully healthy. While they will likely bring Ngakoue back on the practice squad if he does manage to clear waivers, this certainly shows how much bloom has come off the rose.
Waiving Yannick Ngakoue clears up a roster spot that the Ravens now can use on RB Keaton Mitchell, who could make his 2024 season debut tonight after recovering from last season’s knee injury. https://t.co/ch8OnUqMBt
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 7, 2024
Baltimore Ravens waive pass rusher Yannick Nagkoue
Ngakoue was once a key cornerstone of the Jacksonville Jaguars defense, recording 37.5 sacks in four years between 2016 and 2019. Since then, Ngakoue has been a wandering ronin of sorts, playing for five teams and never sticking around longer than a full season with any of them.
Ngakoue tallied at least eight sacks in three straight seasons between 2020 and 2022, split between the Vikings, Ravens, Colts, and Raiders. 2023 is where things started to take a bit of a downturn, as he only had four sacks despite receiving major playing time with the Chicago Bears.
Ngakoue had five tackles and 1.5 sacks in limited action with the Ravens. While far from an awful showing, it is certainly a step back when compared to what he was in the past. Ngakoue's sack numbers may belie the fact he isn't cut out for anything more than extremely situational pass rush work at this point in his career.
Even that, as Baltimore has shown, was not enough to guarantee him a roster spot. While Baltimore will keep him around on the periphery, Ngakoue is clearly on the back nine of his NFL career. Still, 70 sacks in nine years is nothing to sneeze at.