JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jaguars plan to release tight end Evan Engram, per a league source, in a move that will save the team $5.98 million in salary cap space.
The decision comes on the same day the team agreed to trade wide receiver Christian Kirk to the Houston Texans for a 2026 seventh-round pick, and it leaves the Jaguars without two of quarterback Trevor Lawrence's top pass catchers over the past three seasons.
The Jaguars also are moving on from receiver/returner Devin Duvernay and cornerback Ronald Darby, a source told ESPN. Releasing Engram, Duvernay and Darby will save the Jaguars a combined $8.5 million against the salary cap.
After the trade of Kirk, Engram would have had the highest salary cap figure on the roster ($19.75 million) in 2025. He was set to earn $14.75 million, which would have been the final year of a three-year, $41.25 million contract (with $25.5 million guaranteed) he signed just before training camp in 2023.
Engram, 30, signed a one-year, $9 million contract in March 2022 and went on to set career highs in catches (73) and receiving yards (766) that season. The Jaguars used the franchise tag on him but worked out a deal before camp and Engram caught 114 passes (the second most in franchise history and second most by a tight end in NFL history) for 963 yards and four touchdowns in the first year of his new deal.
But he sat out eight games last season because of hamstring and shoulder injuries, and finished with 47 catches for 365 yards in nine games.
Engram was drafted No. 23 by the New York Giants in 2017 and had 262 receptions for 2,828 yards and 16 touchdowns in five seasons before signing with the Jaguars.
He has been selected to two Pro Bowls in his career.
Releasing Engram leaves the Jaguars with three tight ends under contract for 2025: Brenton Strange (the team's second-round pick in 2023), Shawn Bowman and Patrick Murtagh (from the NFL International Player Pathway Program). Strange (45 catches for 466 yards and 3 TDs) is the only one with a catch in the NFL.