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Jaguars TE Engram is leaning toward playing in London against the Bears after missing games with a leg injury

Jaguars TE Engram is leaning toward playing in London against the Bears after missing games with a leg injury

WATFORD, England (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Evan Engram is likely to play Sunday against the Chicago Bears, which would give a boost to a team that was late to England because of Hurricane Milton.

The two-time Pro Bowl tight end — a favorite target of quarterback Trevor Lawrence — hasn’t played since the season opener because of a hamstring injury.

“He has a good trend. “He’s had a good week of practice, so I would expect him to play in this game,” Jags coach Doug Pederson said Saturday at the team’s hotel outside London.

The Jags arrived at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) on Friday – about five hours later than usual for their annual trip to London – and did not arrive at their hotel until 1:30 p.m. This meant they didn’t have time for their usual full training.

“Since it’s getting dark early, I just wanted to have some time for meetings and then get the guys out of it a little bit,” Pederson said.

The coach acknowledged there is some concern about a slow start against a Bears team coming into Tuesday.

“Obviously there’s that concern, I guess, slow start, sluggish, things like that, but … guys have been here before, they know what it’s like,” Pederson said. “They are prepared and ready to go.”

Lawrence said they will be ready for game time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“Those were the travel arrangements we chose, that’s how we’ve always done it,” the quarterback said. “We have confidence in our process and the way we carry it out.

“There are no excuses on Sunday,” he added. “We have to put out a good product and go out and play well.”

The potential return of Engram would be a big boost. The tight end posted career highs of 114 receptions and 963 yards last season.

“We obviously have great chemistry,” Lawrence said. “He’s just a great, dynamic player who changes the game. It will definitely be good to get him back, hopefully this week.”

Engram injured his hamstring during pregame warmups before a Week 2 game against Cleveland.

The Jaguars get their first win of the season – 37-34 over the Indianapolis Colts. Like last season, the Jags will play here in consecutive weeks. Next Sunday they will face the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium.

A year ago they won two straight in London, then won the next three to get to 6-2, but finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

The Bears are looking for three straight wins.

Jags cornerback Tyson Campbell (hamstring) is out Sunday, but the team is hopeful he will be ready for next week’s game. His 21-day training window opened on Wednesday.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Ken Maguire, The Associated Press