Raiders agree to terms with pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue

Here’s your big splash for Monday afternoon: the Las Vegas Raiders got a big-ticket pass rusher.

They have reportedly agreed to terms with Yannick Ngakoue of the Baltimore Ravens.

He is getting $26 million over two years and its fully guaranteed. Therefore on the first day of legal tampering, the Raiders addressed their biggest need as they had almost no pass rush burst as a defense in 2020. I’d expect the team to add another pass rusher in free agency (Melvin Ingram, perhaps?) and take a pass rusher early in the draft.

The Raiders were long connected to Ngakoue. There was a report last year that they were close to sending a first-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for him. Ngakoue was later traded to the Minnesota Vikings and then to the Baltimore Ravens.

Some scouts around the league were worried about Ngakoue because he was traded so often — and as he didn’t play much for the Ravens down the stretch, now there’s concern in that now that he’s gotten, he may not always give a full effort.

Ngakoue’s sack numbers have not increased: He had eight sacks in each of the past two seasons, and 45.5 sacks in five seasons.

Still, this is a good get for the Raiders and he will be a good pass rush partner with Maxx Crosby. Ngakoue will turn 26 this month and he has history with new Las Vegas defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who was the Jaguars’ head coach in 2016 when Ngakoue was drafted.

So, this is a system fit and a solid first step to remake the Las Vegas defense.