Veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue has attempted to put himself on the New York Giants' radar days after Brian Burns suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Sunday's win over the Tennessee Titans.
When a Giants fan suggested the team call the free agent and loop in head coach John Harbaugh, Ngakoue answered with three words.
Willing and able. https://t.co/rmmpDuRWFd
— Yannick Ngakoue (@YannickNgakoue) September 28, 2026
He followed that up on Tuesday. After another fan asked whether he and Harbaugh were on good enough terms to make the call, Ngakoue wrote that "coach is my guy."
Ngakoue played for Harbaugh in Baltimore in 2020 and again during a brief 2024 return before finishing that season with the New England Patriots. The 31-year-old has not appeared in a regular-season game since then. He sat out
all of 2025 to finish recovering from a broken ankle suffered with the Chicago Bears in December 2023 -- an injury he felt still limited him during a 1.5-sack year split between the Ravens and Patriots.
Outside of that ankle, Ngakoue's injury history has been relatively clean.
A 2016 third-round pick out of Maryland, Ngakoue has 70.5 career sacks and 21 forced fumbles in 134 games, including a Pro Bowl season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017. He has also suited up for Minnesota, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Chicago, Baltimore, and New England.
Ngakoue is not the only veteran edge rusher making a pitch. Former Giant Jason Pierre-Paul also reached out after Burns went down.
New York is 2-1 but must now lean more on Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter with its top pass rusher on injured reserve (IR). Ngakoue has spent recent months training for a 2026 return, giving the Giants a familiar option if they want extra help off the edge.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Yannick Ngakoue says he's 'willing and able' if Giants come calling
