Ogbah and Ngakoue To Visit Dolphins In Wake Of Barrett Retirement
Credit: Robert Scheer/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Miami Dolphins are in a bit of scramble mode after the sudden retirement of Shaquil Barrett. With training camp starting this week, Chris Grier is wasting no time, bringing in Yannick Ngakoue and Emmanuel Ogbah in for workouts.
Ngakoue is the bigger name of the two, having made a Pro Bowl in 2017 after a 12-sack season. Since 2020, though, he’s become something of a journeyman, leaving the Jacksonville Jaguars to play with the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, and Chicago Bears.
This was despite fairly consistent production. In his five-teams-in-four-years journey, Ngakoue recorded 31.5 sacks in 60 games, to go with 57 QB Hits, 29 tackles for loss, and seven forced fumbles.
The hope would be that Ngakoue is healthy enough to bounce back from an underwhelming season with the Bears, with just 4.0 sacks in 13 games. He has age somewhat on his side, though, as Ngakoue is 29 years old. If Miami brings him into the fold, they’ll have a pure pass-rush threat, even if Ngakoue is a specialist.
Then there’s the familiar option in Ogbah, who had a strong two seasons with the Dolphins before signing a four-year contract that ultimately disappointed. After 18.0 sacks in 33 games in 2020 and 2021, Ogbah registered just 6.5 sacks in 24 games in the following two years, of which he started just four.
Ogbah was released earlier this year, but the two sides are exploring a reunion. The Dolphins would re-sign him hoping that he can return to his production in the first two seasons in Miami, which were the peak of his career. It might be a tall order for the 6-foot-4 lineman, though, as he’ll turn 31 in November.
Now, is either option an upgrade from Barrett? It’s actually possible. Neither Ngakoue nor Ogbah can claim to be the player Barrett was at his peak with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But Barrett isn’t that guy anymore, either. In his first three seasons in Tampa, he recorded 37.5 sacks in 46 games, including his 19.5-sack performance in 2019. Over the past two seasons, though? That number plummeted to 7.5 sacks in 24 games.
Barrett’s retirement might have thrown a last-minute wrench into the Dolphins’ plans, but whether they get Ngakoue or Ogbah, they’ll be relying on the same kind of player they were in Barrett. They’ll need an older edge rusher coming off a down year to bounce back. The name might be different (or in Ogbah’s case, maybe not), but Miami is in the same situation as before.
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