Report: Franchise Tag Decision For Jaguars' Evan Engram 'Seems Up in the Air'

According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, Evan Engram is one franchise-tagged player whose situation is still up in the air.

For three franchise-tagged NFL stars, this weekend brings among the most important deadlines of the season. 

For Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, and Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, Monday's 4 p.m. deadline for long-term deals will decide whether they have to play the 2023 season on one-year deals. 

It seems like a forgone conclusion that Jacobs and Barkley won't be able to agree to terms with their squads; the question now is whether either will be present for the start of training camp or holdout into the regular-season.

For Engram, though, it appears he is the only player of the three who at least has a fighting chance of getting a new deal by Monday. According to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones, Engram is "one franchise tag decision that seems up in the air."

While this obviously does not indicate a new deal for Engram being on the immediate horizon, it does show that he is closer to finding a solution by the deadline than the other players facing the franchise tag deadline.

As we head into the weekend, one franchise tag decision that seems up in the air is Jaguars TE Evan Engram, per source. Deadline is 4 pm ET Monday for a long term deal or he’s playing 2023 on the tag at $11.3M.

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) July 14, 2023

Teams and franchise players can sign multi-year extensions until July 17 (the typical deadline is July 15 unless on a weekend; because July 15 is on a Saturday this year, the deadline is the following Monday).

Jacksonville and general manager Trent Baalke have used the franchise tag in each of the last two offseasons, each time placing it on Robinson. Robinson played the 2021 season on the tag, but he signed a contract extension last April after initially being tagged. This is technically the fourth year in a row the Jaguars have used the tag after they tagged Yannick Ngakoue in 2020.

Engram had a career year in 2022 as he caught 73 passes for 766 yards and four touchdowns, along with 12 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in two playoff games. Engram not only finished fourth among all tight ends in receiving yards, but he set a franchise record for receptions and receiving yards by a tight end in a single season.