MARCH 6: The Jaguars announced on Monday, to little surprise at this point, that they have indeed tagged Engram. He will not reach the open market for the second straight offseason, and will remain in place for at least 2023 on a Jacksonville offense which will also welcome Calvin Ridley into the fold in the fall.
MARCH 2, 12:14pm: A tag will happen if the sides cannot agree on a long-term deal, but NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe notes the sides still plan to negotiate ahead of Tuesday’s deadline (Twitter link). Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to apply tags to players.
MARCH 2, 11:40am: The second of this year’s franchise tags is coming out. After the Commanders cuffed Daron Payne, the Jaguars intend to tag Evan Engram, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
This is a logical choice, with the tight end tag being the third-lowest figure this year. It will cost the Jags $11.35MM to give Engram the one-year tender/placeholder. Engram has said he wants to stay in Jacksonville, and the Jaguars are optimistic they will be able to hammer out a deal. This move buys them time. They will have until July 15 to work out an extension with Engram, who is going into his age-29 season.
Jacksonville had until March 7 to fire off this transaction. Although GM Trent Baalke said right tackle Jawaan Taylor was also a tag candidate, that move never added up compared to the Engram call. It would have cost the Jags $18.2MM to tag Taylor. Considering Cam Robinson is signed to a top-eight left tackle contract, putting that number on the payroll would have been challenging for the team.
For Engram, this cements a midcareer breakthrough effort. Having languished on mostly poor Giants offenses during his first five seasons, Engram signed a one-year, $9MM pact with the Jags in March 2022. The “prove it” deal paid off for both parties. Engram ended the season with a Jags tight end-record 766 receiving yards, and he continued his production in the playoffs to help the team to the divisional round.
While a host of players have been tagged in the season following their fifth-year option campaign, Engram is the rare player to be tagged two years after his option year. The 2017 first-rounder played out his option year in New York. This tag, which could well lead to a long-term deal, will mean the Ole Miss product will have collected more than $26MM over the past three seasons. Not bad for a tight end who has battled injuries and inconsistency. Ahead of his one-year Jags pact, Engram totaled just 408 yards in 15 Giants games.
It would behoove the Jags to work out a long-term accord with Engram. Their pass catcher payroll is filling up. They now have an Engram tag and Calvin Ridley‘s fifth-year option ($10.9MM) on the books. Both Christian Kirk and Zay Jones are on veteran contracts — $18MM and $8MM per year, respectively — though the Jags restructuring both helped create enough cap space to unholster this Engram tag. This locks in an intriguing quartet ahead of Trevor Lawrence‘s third season. The Jags are still waiting on Ridley’s reinstatement from his gambling suspension, but that is expected to take place.
Thursday’s Jags decision also stands to benefit two tight ends tagged last year. Unless the Cowboys tag Dalton Schultz, his free agency prospects look a bit better. Ditto Mike Gesicki, whom the Dolphins tagged ahead of an ill-fitting season in Mike McDaniel‘s offense. Both are eligible for unrestricted free agency March 15. Gesicki and Schultz are expected to relocate soon after. Neither was able to work out a deal before last summer’s extension deadline, though David Njoku did so with the Browns. Cleveland gave Njoku, chosen six spots behind Engram in the 2017 draft, a four-year, $54.75MM deal. Engram should be able to target a contract in the Njoku-Dawson Knox range; the Bills tight end signed for just less ($13MM per year) last summer.
It’s easy to judge Engram for what he can’t do, but Pederson did a great job of emphasizing what he can, and this isn’t a bad price for that. The franchise tag for tight ends is only as high as the price for a solid supporting receiver. This is less than Russell Gage or Curtis Samuel will make next year.