Doug Pederson Provides Huge Injury Update on Jaguars Star

What did Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson have to say about Evan Engram's injury after the Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns?

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram (17) runs warm up sprints during the seventh day of an NFL football training camp practice Wednesday, July 31, 2024 at EverBank Stadium’s Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Jacksonville Jaguars were dealt a major blow in Week 2, losing tight end Evan Engram to a hamstring injury before the game against the Cleveland Browns even began.

Now the question is how long they will be without one of their top players and offensive captains.

"Evan obviously, prior to pregame warm-ups, he's out there running around and getting himself loose for the game, and obviously felt something in his hamstring," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday.

"So, it was significant enough to keep him out and hold him out of the football game yesterday. We'll see where he is this week. Optimistic, but we’ve just got to see. Hamstrings can be funny. So, it's kind of a week-to-week deal right now with him."

Engram was one of the NFL's most productive and most-targeted players in 2022 and 2023 and was voted a team captain for the first time during his Jaguars tenure this offseason.

Engram has proved to be one of the Jaguars' emotional leaders on and off the field, and losing him for any amount of time would hurt the Jaguars' offense.

“Obviously, when you lose a player like Evan, it can definitely take a little wind out of your sails, just a little bit. He’s a leader, he’s obviously a starter, he’s a captain. It’s a big loss. We could have lost him in pregame, we could have lost him the first play of the game, and you’ve got to continue to play," Pederson said.

"We can’t let things like that affect us. We definitely hate it and don’t like it for Evan, obviously, and now we’ve got to see moving forward where he’s at. It’s always been a next-man-up mentality, and that’s something we continue to preach and we’re going to continue to keep that rolling."

In Engram's absence was second-year tight end Brenton Strange, who had a career performance with three catches for 65 yards and nearly had the game-winning catch on a Hail Mary.

“I thought he played really good," Pederson said.

"Played tough, played physical, made some great catches. Somebody that we knew he had it in him. We’ve seen it in practice and it was good for him to show up yesterday with Evan’s absence.”

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