Jaguars' Evan Engram Reflects on Extension

It took longer than Evan Engram thought it would. 

It took longer than the Jacksonville Jaguars thought it would. 

But roughly a week before the start of training camp, it became official: Engram was the NFL's newest big-money tight end and one of the Jaguars' long-term core players.

“It was a rollercoaster honestly. Felt good, then it was like, 'eh', then towards the end it looked really good," Engram said on Thursday. 

"I never doubted that they wanted me here, it was just the details and the things that had to get ironed out. My agent, Mike McCartney, and Vayner Sports they put all the work in to get it done. Obviously, the team brass here put a lot of work into it too. It was a little up and down but never a doubt I wanted to be here and I knew they wanted me too."

Engram posted career highs across the board in his first year in Jacksonville, recording 73 receptions for 766 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games.

Engram's three-year contract extension with the Jaguars is for $41.25 million and carries $24 million in guarantees. 

“Obviously, longer. It took probably longer than we had hoped for. We felt, Trent [Baalke] and I, even on his side, felt like we were going to get something done," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Wednesday. 

"It was just a matter of letting the dust settle around the league and seeing where things were going to shake out, and obviously on our football team. We’re just excited to have him here, I don’t think he was going to miss camp, regardless of the extension or not. I think he was going to be here. He loves ball, he loves being here. That’s the one thing that, I think as a coach, you’re proud of; when guys want to stay and they want to be here and be a part of what we’re building. He’s a big part of it, offensively, we’re excited to have him locked up for a few more years and ready to go.”

For Engram, the extension was a long time coming. It marked the culmination of years of hard work, ups and downs, and a stint with the New York Giants where his enjoyment of the sport waned. 

“Yeah, there were a lot of question marks for myself coming in here and just buying in to something brand new," Engram said. 

"I was in one place for the five years in my career and just kind of back against the wall. I put the work in, a lot of people around me helped me. This team, I'm having fun again. I had fun again last year playing football. Obviously, everything that came with that, I just thank God and the people around me. Give credit to the work I put in as well."

Engram was initially franchise-tagged by the Jaguars when the two sides couldn't come to agreement on terms ahead of the franchise-tag deadline. Faced with the prospects of losing Engram after he bet on himself with a one-year deal earlier, the Jaguars used the tag and then almost the entirety of the next four months to keep Engram in Jacksonville for years to come.

“Yeah, I mean I wanted to get something more secure, I hoped I would get that. But I was going to be here whether I was on the tag or deal so I wasn't really worried about missing ball. That would get me nervous but just glad we got something done. That was the whole point of everything, and we did it," Engram said. 

"There was a lot I thought. I'm not going to get into detail on what I thought was going to happen, but I definitely assumed it was going to go a different route, but it was a surprise. I think I even joked on Twitter one day thinking I was going to get tagged, just kind of joking about it but then I actually got tagged. So, it was all over the place. I didn't have any secure conclusions about anything but at the end of the day I'm here, we got a deal and I'm here for the next three years."

Engram wanted to return to Jacksonville more than anything after the 2022 season. The Jaguars wanted the same thing. And after months of working toward making it happen, it finally did -- keeping Engram where he feels he belongs.

“Yeah, I felt that last year. There was a lot of adversity we faced last year. There was a lot of adversity I faced last year. Just the way we prevailed through, we fell short, but we all took a lot of big steps," Engram said. 

"That was the most confident I became in my career, and I don’t just give the credit all to myself. It’s the environment I’m in, it’s the teammates I have, it’s the coaches I have, it’s the gameplans, the trainers, the custodians, everybody here is a part of our journey and my journey that I had last year. It felt like home, it’s somewhere where I wanted to invest more time and create a legacy here for myself.”