Should Jaguars Move on From Evan Engram Following Season-Ending Injury?

As if things couldn’t get bleaker in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars announced that their key pass-catching tight end Evan Engram’s season is officially done due to a torn labrum that will require surgery.

Aside from his 2024 NFL campaign, this also spells the likely end of Engram’s tenure with the Jaguars. Jacksonville has the option to exit his contract for 2025 and can save $6.2 million in total cap should they choose to release or trade him.

Engram will be 31 by the start of the 2025 season and health has hindered his potential since inking a three-year, $41.25 deal in 2023.

He already has struggled to remain healthy this season after recovering from a hamstring injury he endured in Week 2 that kept him off the field for four weeks.

In the nine games Engram did suit up, he paced himself to 5.2 catches for 40.5 yards. His numbers got a kick after catching 10 of 10 targets when he returned from injury in a 35-16 loss against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 13.

Engram had a renaissance year in 2023 amassing 963 yards in all 17 games, but the Jaguars fell just short of the playoff brink.

Now, the Jaguars are eyeing draft picks as they dwell in the basement of the AFC South with four games to play. They face the fellow 3-10 New York Jets at home in Week 15 after snapping a five-game skid with a 10-6 win over the Tennessee Titans last week.

With franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence also having been placed on injured reserve earlier in December and expected to undergo surgery to repair an AC joint injury in his left shoulder, the Jaguars’ depth at skill positions are being exploited as Brian Thomas Jr. is the only player rostered with more than three receptions per game.

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Lawrence is fresh into the first year of a five-year, $275 million contract he signed before the 2024 season commenced. So, continuing to build around him presents a perturbing endeavor with Lawrence ranking No. 33 overall amongst all quarterbacks in CPOE (Completion Percentage Over Expected) at -0.9% and eclipsing 200 yards only four times in his 10 starts.

General manager Trent Baalke is faced with making burdensome decisions on how to approach 2025, and cutting the cord on Engram’s contract would be the first step in alleviating cap pressure and rebuilding a franchise that hasn’t finished above .500 since 2007.

Baalke could have Engram’s successor rostered already, however. Sophomore Brenton Strange will emerge as the next option on the depth chart in Engram’s stead.

The former second-round pick from Penn State reeled an average of 30 yards and secured a pair of scores in Engram’s first four-game absence this season. He’ll have another four games to earn the job and save Baalke extra work — and money — for 2025.

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