JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars coach Doug Marrone doesn't expect an extended holdout by defensive end Yannick Ngakoue.
The league's collective bargaining agreement has a lot to do with that.
Per the CBA, Ngakoue must report no later than 30 days before the first game in order to accrue his fourth season and stay on track to become an unrestricted free agent in 2020. The Jaguars open the season on Sept. 8 at home against Kansas City.
If Ngakoue reports after that deadline and plays in 2019, he would be a restricted free agent in 2020.
Marrone called Ngakoue's holdout part of the business but said he has been in touch with him
"We've been talking to him, Marrone said Thursday before the team's first training camp practice. "It's just between Yannick and his agent, management, contracts, but he's working hard. He's trying to get this thing done. We're trying to get this thing done. We're excited for him. He's going to come. He will report. I don't know when. I know it'll be before a certain date, and when he comes we'll be excited about it."
Ngakoue did not report to the team facility with the rest of his teammates for training camp on Wednesday because he wants a new contract. The fourth-year player had skipped the three-day mandatory minicamp in June, which earned him a fine of $86,650, and he now faces a fine of $40,000 a day for each day he misses.
Ngakoue is due to make $2.02 million this season and wants a deal similar to the mega-contracts that pass-rushers Demarcus Lawrence and Frank Clark signed in the offseason. Both players' deals are worth more than $100 million over the life of the contract and Lawrence received $65 million guaranteed and Clark received $62.3.
Ngakoue has recorded 29.5 sacks and 10 forced fumbles since he entered the league as a third-round pick in 2016. He has more sacks than Lawrence (26) and Dee Ford (25) and Trey Flowers (21), who also got new contracts that guaranteed them $45 million and $56 million respectively.
