Jaguars franchise tag TE Evan Engram for 2023
The Jacksonville Jaguars made a big decision prior to the start of free agency.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are placing the franchise tag on tight end Evan Engram, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The decision will cost the team $11.3 million (fully guaranteed) which certainly makes it a big move. But the Jaguars could still strike a long-term deal with Engram to lower his cap hit for 2023.
Whether or not they pursue that path remains to be seen.
But for now, the move reflects the obvious: The Jaguars have to make sure Trevor Lawrence is operating with a strong supporting cast. Last year, Jacksonville finished the season as the sixth-best passing offense per Football Outsiders' DVOA metric.
Engram was a huge part of that as he had a career year with 73 catches for 766 yards and four touchdowns. He shined as a complement to Zay Jones and Christian Kirk on Doug Pederson's scheme.
Pederson does a fantastic job turning tight ends into "easy buttons" on his offense. Keeping Engram will make life much easier for Lawrence as he'll have a reliable target getting open consistently.
The move will leave the Jaguars with very little cap space once more but they could still do some more maneuvering to get through the offseason.
However, they're not expected to be big spenders currently being the third highest-spenders in the NFL since 2021.
Featured image via Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
