The Jacksonville Jaguars are expected to use the franchise tag on tight end Evan Engram, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Despite “very promising” initial talks between the Jaguars and Engram, the usage of the tag isn’t surprising with less than two weeks before the tight end was set to become a free agent. The deadline to use the tag is May 7.
The franchise tag is due to pay Engram $11,345,000 on a fully guaranteed one-year deal, although it still seems likely that the Jaguars will work to reach a long-term deal with the tight end.
In February, Engram said he wouldn’t be bothered if the Jaguars used the tag to keep him and described it as a “placeholder to get something done.” The Jaguars will have until July 17 to negotiate a long-term contract with Engram.
While the most significant fallout of the decision is that the Jaguars have secured their top tight end from becoming a free agent, a secondary consequence is that Jacksonville doesn’t have a tag to retain right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
If the Jaguars can reach a deal with Taylor before March 15, the former second-round pick will be one of the top offensive linemen on the free agency market.
