Yannick Ngakoue has been around the league since 2016 and has plenty of experience playing in Foxborough.
Ngakoue has been with the Jaguars, Ravens, Raiders, Colts, Bears and Vikings. The newest addition to the New England organization met with the media for the first time since being claimed off waivers and was asked first what his thoughts were and second, what expectations have been set for him.
“Excited. Happy for the opportunity. Just won a game last week against the Bears, so I just want to help build on that energy and that momentum…just come in, be a leader,” he said. “Help build to the culture, help provide on all three downs and play fast and physical…I just want to bring energy. Energy is contagious and if we can all have the right energy, then we can win some more football games.”
Was Ngakoue surprised that he became a Patriot?
“Not at all, it’s football,” he said matter of factly.
Coming from a winning organization like Baltimore to a (currently) losing organization is one of the worst things that can happen to a player in the NFL. Ngakoue is now faced with that reality, but he’s taking a positive approach to this new situation.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “Where I was drafted to (Jacksonville), it was a team that didn’t win a lot. The next year we were in the AFC Championship. It’s all about your perspective. It’s all about how you can build team camaraderie and change those things.”
Ngakoue said he knows Ja’Whaun Bentley, Joe Giles-Harris and a couple others in the locker room already, which should make the transition a bit easier. He also sounds like he’s genuinely interested in restoring the winning tradition that was established here in Foxborough.
“Great tradition,” he added. “Super Bowl-winning team, we’ve just got to bring that culture back, that’s it.”
Nkagoue was part of the 2017 Jaguars team that should have won the AFC Championship (let’s be real, the Jags got screwed on that fumble) and asked about any memories he has from that AFC title game.
“Memories I have…I want to get back there. I definitely want to get back there,” he added. “It was a great experience, a great atmosphere, but we lost. It doesn’t matter, that’s in the past.”
There were questions whether or not Ngakoue was even going to accept this as his latest football fate and perhaps not report to Gillette, but in a bit of a surprise – at least for a day – it seems like he’s willing to give this whole Patriots thing a chance. Hopefully, this turns into one Eliot Wolf’s biggest steals heading into 2025.