Engram on slim Broncos role: “A lot of it was out of my control”

Evan Engram had a better 2025 than he did in 2024, but there was still a sense of frustration from the Denver Broncos tight end after the season came to an end in the AFC Championship Game.

Engram, who had just three catches for 26 yards in two playoff games, was signed to a 2-year $23 million deal in the offseason to bolster a position the team has struggled at for years. Engram, who tried to embrace Sean Payton’s idea of a Joker, never really was that, nor did he prove to be a difference-making tight end.

But the 31-year-old two-time Pro Bowler, who was playing in his third NFL city this year, believes he had a good year; the numbers just don’t show it because of limited opportunities.

“A lot of the stuff that was different was out of my control. I can only do the most with the opportunity that I get,” Engram said on Monday from the team’s locker cleanout. “There were times I had opportunities, there were times they were slim. I learned to always stay in the moment and wait for my number to be called. I feel like I made a lot of big plays this year. I felt like I always wanted to contribute more, every week. But a lot of it was out of my control, and I had to stop figuring out what that was and focus on what I was asked to do.”

Engram was slated to be a “joker” tight end — or at least that’s the dream head coach Sean Payton has for his scheme. The Broncos were hoping to recreate his 2023 Pro Bowl season in Jacksonville, where he 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.

“Yeah, I thought I did a good job of what I was asked to do, maximizing the opportunities I got,” Engram said of 2025. I helped the team, learned a lot about myself and winning, the process. Eight years in, you think you have it figured out, but still learning.

Engram was heavily hampered in 2024, limited to nine games because of a hamstring injury and, later a season-ending torn labrum, which made him available to the Broncos. Still, he caught 47 passes for 365 yards, which was basically on par with what the Broncos’ entire tight end room that season.

In 2025, Engram was third on the team in both catches and receiving yards. Now the Broncos will have to decide if they want to keep him, and if they do, if they want to try to get more out of the player.

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