Yannick Ngakoue has apparently widened his search for a new team as Bears training camp approaches. Earlier this summer, Ngakoue said he was looking to join a team that could contend this season. He changed his tune in an interview with Jim Rome last week.
“Any team in the NFL is an ideal landing spot for me,” Ngakoue told Rome. “It’s a blessing to be able to work any job in the NFL. You know what I mean? To be able to go and practice with a team, to be able to go do a walkthrough, to be able to go do film study, it’s a blessing. It doesn’t matter what organization.”
If Ngakoue wants anything, it could be stability. He’s an incredibly talented and consistent pass rusher, with 65 career sacks. But he’s played for five different teams over the past four seasons.
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“Everybody wants a home,” Ngakoue said. “Everybody wants to be able to just play football and not really worry about the business side of things.”
It’s no secret that the Bears could use some reinforcements on the defensive line. Last year the Bears notched an NFL-low 20 sacks. Of those 20 sacks, only 10.5 came from defensive linemen. Ryan Poles added some young defensive tackles through the draft, but the new faces at defensive end are veteran rotational players like DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green. None of them have the track record of success that Ngakoue does.
It’s also no secret that Poles and Matt Eberflus are open to adding more players at this stage of the offseason program, similar to how the team signed Riley Reiff and Michael Schofield at the outset of training camp last season.
Here’s what Poles said back in April when asked if he felt good about the Bears roster heading into training camp:
“Camp’s a long ways away. We’ll stay on our toes and if something presents itself we’ll be able to do that. We’ll be able to do it financially as well.”
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Camp is no longer a ways away. Players report to Halas Hall this Tuesday and things pick up quickly from there. The Bears have yet to make any significant changes to the roster, but if they’re ready to look up Ngakoue, he’ll be ready.
“I have my sights set on nothing but whoever calls me and is ready to bring me in.”