The New England Patriots suffered arguably their worst loss of the 2024 campaign in Week 17, as they were romped by the Los Angeles Chargers, with the final score settling in at 40-7. This was a bad game all around for New England, and for veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue, it ended up being his final game with the team.

Ngakoue was scooped up by the Pats after he was released by the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season, but he didn’t do much for his new team. The final straw seemed to be an unnecessary roughing the passer call that went against him in their loss to the Chargers, meaning it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see him get released by the team on Tuesday morning.

“Patriots are waiving veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue today, per source,” Adam Schefter reported on X, formerly Twitter.

Patriots flier on Yannick Ngakoue doesn’t pay off

With the Patriots struggling to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks, bringing in a veteran like Ngakoue, who has made a career out of racking up sacks, made sense. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for him, as he racked up just nine tackles and no sacks during six games with New England, with his most memorable play arguably being the roughing the passer call that likely led to his release.

At this point, the Pats are just looking to make it through their regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills before heading into the offseason and making improvements to their roster. Ngakoue wasn’t a part of their long-term future, so releasing him allows the veteran pass rusher to get a head start on finding a new home. However, given how poorly his stint in New England went, he may find interest from teams across the league a bit harder to come by, especially with his numbers continuing to decline as he gets older.