After spending his first five seasons with the Giants, tight end Evan Engram signed a one-year deal with the Jaguars and proceeded to have the best year of his career.
The Jaguars placed the franchise tag on Engram last month, keeping him with the club for the upcoming season.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is happy to have one of his key targets back.
“It’s huge. That was a big priority for us this offseason. So, to have him back at least for this year — and hopefully longer moving forward — that’s ideal,” Lawrence said this week, via Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union. “You saw what he did for our offense last season and how he came on at the end of the year. I think we really figured out how to use him the right way and he’s helped us a ton. Just keep building on that, there’s still more out there. That’s the exciting part.”
Engram set career highs with 73 catches and 766 yards with four touchdowns. He also caught 12 passes for 124 yards with a TD in Jacksonville’s two playoff games.
The tight end has yet to sign his franchise tender. But if and when he does, Engram will make $11.345 million. Engram and the Jaguars have until July 17 to work out a long-term deal.
Jacksonville’s offseason program begins on April 17.
“We’re pumped [to get started on voluntary workouts]. We’ll have a good crew there and it’s such a cool time of the year,” Lawrence said. “Everybody comes back, get to start building your team, building your foundation. I’m really excited to start that with all the guys.”