Jordan Love’s debut as the true Green Bay Packers starting quarterback in Week 1 will be a little bit tougher after news broke Thursday night out of Chicago. The Packers Week 1 opponent, the Chicago Bears, signed a game-changing free agent to their team.
The Bears had the league’s worst pass rush last season. They only sacked the quarterback 20 times in 2022. The Bears added three defensive tackles in the draft but did little to improve their Edge play.
That changed Thursday night.
A rival of the Green Bay Packers signs Yannick Ngakoue
According to Adam Schefter with ESPN, the Bears signed defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to a one-year deal worth $10.5 million. $10 million of that is guaranteed to Ngakoue.
The top available defensive free agent, DE Yannick Ngakoue, is signing a one-year, $10.5 million deal, including $10 million guaranteed with the Chicago Bears.
His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, confirmed the deal Thursday night.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 4, 2023
Ngakoue will be a huge upgrade for a defense that added a couple of playmakers, including linebacker Tremaine Edmunds this offseason.
The Packers Week 1 matchup versus the Chicago Bears looks harder
Love’s matchup against the Bears looked a lot easier before the news. Now it seems like Love, who is struggling in training camp, will face a more ferocious pass rush than the Packers would have been preparing for earlier in camp. Ngakoue will have the power to alter the Packers’ passing game in Week 1.
Fortunately for the Packers, Ngakoue has one weakness. He’s not a good run defender. If Ngakoue is on the field, the Packers can feed a steady diet of runs to Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon.
Dive into the latest developments as Yannick Ngakoue joins the Chicago Bears, intensifying the NFC North rivalry. Discover more on this and other Green Bay Packers Rumors.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What position is Yannick Ngakoue?
Yannick Ngakoue plays as a defensive end for the Chicago Bears. He made his debut on the practice field on Tuesday but was limited in his activities.
Where did Yannick Ngakoue go to college?
Yannick Ngakoue played college football at the University of Maryland. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Ngakoue has also had stints with the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, and Las Vegas Raiders, before being traded to the Washington Football Team.
1 Comment
Sorry, Jordan, but as is run stopping weakness is plainly evident, there is no doubt that he will primarily be on the field for passing situations, although for 10 million bucks he WILL see some downs that could be running plays, i.e., for his career that works out to 2/3 to 1/3 of his plays.