5 prominent Jacksonville Jaguars players who might not be back next year

3. Jacksonville Jaguars player who could leave in 2024: Evan Engram, TE

Players often take one-year deals because they lack better options but that wasn't tight end Evan Engram's case last offseason. Even though the Jaguars' brass made a push for a long-term deal, the former Ole Miss Rebel chose to bet on himself, which was a smart move in retrospect.

Engram set career highs for catches and receiving yards. He also broke several team records, many of them previously held by Kyle Brady. And late in the 2022 season, he said that he was open to returning to Jacksonville and the team expressed a mutual interest.

Earlier this year, it seemed like Engram and the Jags were close to reaching a deal but they ultimately couldn't get it done, so they used the franchise tag on him to prevent him from becoming a free agent. From the outside, it's hard to tell what made negotiations stall but it's possible that they didn't agree on the amount he would get paid.

While the Jaguars need to be fiscally responsible, Evan Engram is probably aiming at a contract that pays him an annual salary of $14, or somewhere around that range. However, there wasn't a huge market for tight ends in the offseason and both Dalton Schultz and Mike Gesicki had to settle for one-year, prove-it deals.

The demand for tight ends could go up in 2024 and if that's the case, Engram will get the contract he's looking for, especially if he has another productive campaign. Having said that, he may need to leave the Jags in order to cash in big.