The Baltimore Ravens made a roster change ahead of their Thursday night 35-34 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. The team waived former Pro Bowl pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue with the hope of re-signing him to their practice squad, according to ESPN.
However, the Ravens calculated risk didn’t pay off as they weren’t able to re-sign him since the 2-7 New England Patriots scooped him up off of waivers on Friday, per NFL Media. New England made this move to help boost a sagging pass rush. They have generated the fifth-lowest quarterback pressure rate (29.8%) and have tallied the fourth-fewest sacks (16) in the entire NFL.
A Pro Bowler with the Jaguars in 2017, Ngakoue recorded 1.5 sacks in five games this season with the Ravens. Ngakoue, who has played for five different franchises since leaving the Jaguars (his original team) in 2020, is returning from an ankle injury that was sustained late in the 2023 season as a member of the Chicago Bears.
The 29-year-old has 70.5 career sacks, 21 forced fumbles and 72 tackles for loss. Ngakoue established reputation as a pass rush specialist, totaling at least eight sacks in each of his first seven NFL seasons. That puts him in a club with three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald (2015-2020) and three Hall of Famers — DeMarcus Ware (2005-2011), Derrick Thomas (1989-1995) and Reggie White (1985-1991) — as the only players to accomplish that feat in their first seven seasons since sacks became an individual stat in 1982. He last did so in 2022 with the Indianapolis Colts. His 70.5 career sacks are tied for the ninth most in the NFL with Trey Hendrickson since entering the league as a third-round pick of the Jaguars in 2016. Ngakoue will now play for seven teams in his nine-year NFL career, suiting up with the Jaguars (2016-2019), the Vikings (2020), the Ravens (2020, 2024), the Raiders (2021), the Colts (2022), the Bears (2023) and the Patriots (2024).