Who is the Jaguars' Most Important Contract Extension?

A recent Bleacher Report article tabs Evan Engram as the Jaguars' most important extension candidate before the 2023 season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a number of important contracts set to expire after the 2023 season.

Former first-round picks Josh Allen and Calvin Ridley are each playing on fifth-year options, while tight end Evan Engram is less than a month away from having to play on a one-year franchise tag. 

So with a trio of talented and important veterans all due to be paid this March, which of the three is most important for the Jaguars to try to lock up now? 

Bleacher Report asked this question for the Jaguars and for 31 other teams. And to them, it is Engram whose extension is the most critical to complete.

"The Jacksonville Jaguars have until July 17 to work out a long-term extension with tight end Evan Engram, and they should. After that date, he'll be forced to play under the franchise tag and could potentially walk in 2024 free agency. That would create a potential problem for the Jags and quarterback Trevor Lawrence—who developed a palpable rapport with Engram last season. The soon-to-be 29-year-old caught 73 passes for 766 yards and four touchdowns in his first season in Jacksonville,"

Bleacher Report wrote.

"While Jacksonville did use a second-round pick on Penn State tight end Brenton Strange, they should still look to lock up Engram for at least a couple more years. He's shown himself to be one of Lawrence's most trusted targets, and until/unless Strange does the same, Engram should be kept in the lineup."

Signed to a one-year deal last season, Engram was one of the Jaguars top offensive playmakers, especially down the critical late stretch of the season. With Engram franchise-tagged this past offseason, the clock has ticked on a potential extension for the former first-round pick.

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).

“That’s the goal. The goal is to get this thing done," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said about Engram on April 20, ahead of the NFL Draft. 

"These negotiations always have ups and downs as you go through the process and you’re just trying to come to a common goal of getting him signed. I think we’re trending in that direction, but we’re not there yet. We’re continuing to work to get him signed to a long-term extension, and hopefully we can get that done.”

Since then, though, the Jaguars have spent the No. 61 overall pick on tight end Brenton Strange. While Strange has a long way to go before he can prove himself to be the same trustworthy target that Engram is, his selection does add to the equation of whether Engram will be given an extension instead of Ridley or Allen.

"Lord knows how excited my family and I are to be staying in Jax! Hopefully we can get a long term deal done soon 🙏🏽," Engram tweeted after he was tagged.

 "So hopefully something gets done and, and I think, you know, it's mutual over there. Haven't had too many conversations yet. But the interest is there on both sides for me to come back," Engram told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Feb. 20.

"And obviously, I would love to come back as well. But like you said, it's a business. Man, I definitely felt like you know, I put a lot of great things on film, I had a lot of great results this year, and I was a big part of helping my team win. So when you do that, at the pass catcher position, we have a lot of highlight plays, and you know, you do something special with the football, you know, those guys get taken care of financially-wise."

"It's a hypothetical. So it could happen, it could not. But you know, if that happens, I think that'll be a placeholder, you know, to get something done. I think that's just kind of just the way I feel about it," Engram said when asked about the tag in February.

"And if it does come to that, you know, there'll be conversations had with my team and we'll move forward from there, but if that does happen, I'm gonna be blessed either way, and we'll figure something out long- a term that can mean that both sides will be happy with this."