NFL free agency: Evan Engram to visit Broncos, per report; why ex-Jaguars TE is perfect fit for Sean Payton

Sean Payton may have found his “joker.” Former Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram is visiting the Denver Broncos as free agency kicks off, According to ESPN. Engram, released by Jacksonville last week, appears motivated to prove that he’s still one of the best at his position. 

“It’s all love Jax,” Engram posted on social media after his release. “But they just let a mf dog loose! Excited for what’s next!”

Engram had the worst season of his NFL career in 2024, as he caught just 47 passes for 365 yards and one touchdown in nine games played, as a hamstring injury cost him four games at the beginning of the season, and a torn labrum ended his campaign in Week 14.

Engram is not far removed from his best NFL season, as in 2023, he caught 114 passes for a career-high 963 yards and four touchdowns. His 114 receptions are the second-most by a tight end in NFL history, behind Zach Ertz’s 116 catches in 2018. Engram signed a three-year, $41.25 million deal with Jacksonville in 2023 that made him the No. 6 highest-paid tight end at the time. Just two years later, Engram is now a free agent. 

One of the Broncos’ main objectives this offseason is to upgrade Bo Nix’s weaponry, and the versatile Engram would be a natural fit in Payton’s scheme since he can create after the catch and is a natural mismatch at tight end. That’s what Payton wants in his “joker.” 

“A joker can be a tight end or a running back that has exceptional — we were spoiled here [in New Orleans] when you think about it,” Payton said during an interview with Kay Adams earlier this offseason. “You had Reggie [Bush], you had Jimmy Graham, Jeremy Shockey, Darren Sproles, Alvin Kamara. Those are interior, either tight ends or running backs, that they have to be elite receivers that play tight end or running back. And then you get the matchups. We had quite a few of them here because you are getting two-high defense and you have to work the inside.”

The former No. 23 overall pick of the New York Giants in 2017 out of Ole Miss has caught 496 passes for 4,922 yards and 25 touchdowns over eight seasons. Just four tight ends have recorded more receiving yards than Engram since he entered the league.