Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday that defensive lineman Yannick Ngakoue will be out for the rest of the season due to a broken ankle, via Josh Alper of Football Talk.
Ngakoue suffered the injury during the Bears’ Week 14 win over the Detroit Lions this past Sunday. He will undergo surgery to repair the issue.
The veteran logged three tackles and a sack against the Lions before sustaining the injury late in the contest.
Ngakoue has played in all 13 games this season, totaling 22 tackles and four sacks. He signed a one-year deal with the Bears back in the spring.
The 28-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Maryland, was originally selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He flashed considerable potential during his rookie campaign, appearing in every game and registering 23 tackles, eight sacks, an interception and four forced fumbles.
Then, the following season, Ngakoue broke out, racking up 30 tackles, 12 sacks, six forced fumbles, a couple of fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown en route to a Pro Bowl appearance. That year, Ngakoue was a crucial part of a dominant Jaguars defense that made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game.
He continued his stretch of impressive play throughout the remainder of his four-year tenure in Jacksonville, accumulating 17.5 sacks in his third and fourth seasons with the club.
Since then, Ngakoue has strangely bounced around, playing for five teams since 2020. He spent time with the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders and Indianapolis Colts before joining Chicago this past offseason. His best campaign since 2017 came in 2021, when he rattled off 28 tackles, 10 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles with the Raiders.
This season has represented the least productive run of Ngakoue’s NFL career.
The Bears are 5-8 and will head on the road to take on the Cleveland Browns this Sunday.
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