Eric DeCosta was given a standing ovation for Ngakoue trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta hasn’t been passive about acquiring top talent when he needs to. And his biggest supporters are at the Ravens’ facility in Owings Mills.
After the Ravens traded for Yannick Ngakoue from the Vikings to boost their defense, DeCosta was praised by coaches on the Ravens’ staff in a very literal sense.
“I think my favorite person in the world is Eric DeCosta — I told him that personally,” defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale said Thursday. ”The whole defensive staff gave him a standing ovation when he was able to come down and tell us that we got it done. Everybody, the teammates, the guys on defense, we're all fired up and happy that we got him.”
Ngakoue had five sacks in six games with the Vikings and is now set to come home to Maryland, where he’ll add another edge pass rusher the team needed.
The trade was another feather in DeCosta’s cap as it relates to acquiring high-level players, as he’s traded for All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters and defensive end Calais Campbell in the last year without giving up a draft pick better than a third-rounder.
Now, the Ravens and Martindale have another piece to play with on the outside.
“It reminds me of a similar situation we got Elvis (Dumervil) to bring in that type of that caliber of a rusher, especially where we're at a season,” Martindale said.
