The Denver Broncos finally have their solution to a long-known hole at tight end, inking Evan Engram to a two-year deal for $23 million, of which $16.5 million is guaranteed, according to Engram’s agent, Mike McCartney.
Excited for Evan Engram agreeing to a 2 year deal with the @Broncos @eazyengram
— Mike McCartney (@MikeMcCartney7) March 12, 2025
TE Evan Engram’s deal with the #Broncos: Two years, $23 million with $16.5 million fully guaranteed. pic.twitter.com/9bRj0j93Mj
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 12, 2025
Engram, 30, has played in 108 NFL games since going in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Ole Miss. His jersey colors stayed the same early on in the pros, starting with the New York Giants. He played there for five seasons, then played the last three in Jacksonville for a total of $41 million.
Twice a Pro Bowler, including in 2023, the 6-foot-3 target hauled in the most catches (114) out of any tight end in the league that season. Four were for touchdowns as he gained 963 yards. Engram was heavily hampered in 2025, limited to nine games because of a hamstring injury and, later a season-ending torn labrum. Still, he caught 47 passes for 365 yards, which is basically on par with what the Broncos entire tight end room produced last season as a whole—catching 51 Bo Nix passes for 483 yards.
Sean Payton and George Paton will hope Engram is the answer to the Broncos’ tight end woes that the team has had since trading away Noah Fant in the Russell Wilson deal in 2022.
Engram was caught up in a roster purge executed by new general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen. The thing to look out for with the tight end is his depth of target number at 5.4 yards. He is no longer the stretch-the-field threat he was when he broke into the league, but he remains a reliable underneath target. Engram’s average yardage after the catch has dropped from 6.4 in 2022 to 3.2 last year.
Still, Engram will look to play a role he’s already been in twice before for Daniel Jones and Trevor Lawrence—a trustworthy tight end for a blossoming quarterback. Nix threw just five touchdowns to tight ends in 2024, but neither Nate Adkins nor Adam Trautman were guys that opposing defenses spent a lot of time game-planning for in the film room. Engram has 25 scores in his career. Where Jayden Daniels had Zach Ertz as his safety valve last fall and Lamar Jackson had Mark Andrews or Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce had in the past, Nix now has Engram.
Payton and the Broncos might not be done at the tight end position, as the 2025 NFL Draft is loaded with talent there across the board, giving more avenues to help Nix continue to grow into the next great Broncos quarterback. Plus Payton has non-stop talked about a Joker, a role Engram likely does not fill.