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Before the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Cleveland Browns Sunday afternoon, they have received word that tight end Evan Engram who had big goals for the season will be out with a hamstring injury according to the team's PR department on X, formerly Twitter. Per the post, Engram suffered the injury during pregame warmups which is no doubt a frustrating development for the Jaguars.
“TE Evan Engram sustained a hamstring injury in pregame warmups and has been ruled out for today's game,” the post said on the social media account.
Engram is one of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence's favorite targets on the field and against a strong Browns defense, it's a huge blow for the team. Last week in the opening loss to the Miami Dolphins, 20-17, Engram only caught one pass for five yards on four targets as it was a sluggish day on offense for Jacksonville as a whole.
There is no doubt though that when Engram comes back from injury depending on the severity of the hamstring injury, he will be a main factor of their offense as last year recorded his best season with 963 yards on 114 catches along four touchdowns. Going into this season, he mentioned how he has the ability to make plays down the field on top of being Lawrence's “security blanket” according to ESPN.
“My role was underneath being the security blanket for Trevor underneath and getting the ball in my hands fast, getting up field and moving the chains,” Engram said. “I’ve done that really well and I think the next level for me is to improve that intermediate, deep range . . . Making more explosive plays, downfield, more touchdowns, being a bigger red zone target. Those are my goals. I think that can take it to a whole other level.”
Jaguars' Evan Engram looks to keep improving after return from injury
Engram was originally drafted by the New York Giants in the first round in 2017 and after five seasons of inconsistent play, he found some semblance with the Jaguars. At 30-years old now, he wants to keep improving each year and the Ole Miss product is certain he can do that under the coaching staff led by head coach Doug Pederson who also praised what his ceiling can be in the passing game.
“I want to keep going, I want even more,” Engram said via Michael DiRocco of ESPN. “It's definitely really cool to put two great seasons together back-to-back. And when you look at the greats that have been through this game that are in the game now, they do that year after year and I definitely feel I'm in the place to be able to do that, in the system to do that, the coaches, the quarterback, the team to continue to do that. So for me, definitely proud of what I put together, but there's a lot more work to do and a lot more for me to go get.”
The Jaguars are looking for their first win of the season as they face the Browns, but they will be without Engram as the other tight ends on the depth chart include Luke Farrell and Brenton Strange. Still, the team has other pass-catchers like Christian Kirk, rookie Brian Thomas Jr., and even running back Travis Etienne Jr.
