Jaguars Discussing Extensions With Travon Walker, Parker Washington, Brenton Strange
The 2024 Jaguars offseason brought big-ticket extensions, while a reset of sorts occurred last year. As Jacksonville’s Liam Coen-James Gladstone regime moves through Year 2, however, some of Trent Baalke‘s draft choices are on the extension radar.
Edge rusher Travon Walker, wide receiver Parker Washington and tight end Brenton Strange have engaged in extension talks with the Jaguars, ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco notes. These are being categorized as preliminary discussions, but it is certainly notable these players are under consideration to be paid by a regime that did not draft them. Gladstone said, via DiRocco, the team is “probably within striking distance to see things come to light” regarding such extensions.
While it is certainly not surprising to see Walker’s name here, the Jags overhauled their skill-position corps in 2025. The team released Evan Engram, Gabe Davis and Devin Duvernay while trading Christian Kirk to the Texans last year. Brian Thomas Jr. did not build on his strong rookie season, and trade acquisition Jakobi Meyers ended up being paid — at three years and $60MM. But Baalke-era picks Strange and Washington joined Meyers in making big impacts as Trevor Lawrence turned things around last season.
A 2023 sixth-round pick, Washington had worked as a Kirk replacement in the past. Last year brought a breakthrough, with Coen’s offense unlocking the Penn State product’s potential. Washington led the Jags with 847 receiving yards last season, totaling a career-high five touchdown grabs. The Jags have Meyers at $20MM per year to go with Lawrence’s $55MM-AAV deal, but they will see what it will take to keep Washington off the 2027 free agent market.
The 204-pound wide receiver certainly upped his stock in 2025, but the 2026 season should — in theory, at least — see a concerted effort to involve Thomas, especially now that Travis Hunter is shifting more to a cornerback role. Meyers also ignited the Jags’ offense following his midseason arrival, and the in-season extension reflects the Gladstone-Coen duo’s faith in his abilities moving forward. Washington continuing on his current pace, however, would make him one of the top 2027 WR free agents. The Jags have until next March to negotiate exclusively with him.
Strange took Engram’s spot as Jacksonville’s top receiving tight end last season, amassing 540 yards on 46 receptions. Strange averaged 11.7 yards per catch and smashed his previous yards-per-game best by producing his season yardage total in just 12 contests during an injury-shortened season. The Jags jettisoned Engram’s three-year, $41.25MM extension last March but are exploring what moving back into the upper-echelon TE market will cost.
The NFL currently features 14 tight ends earning at least $10MM per year. Strange will assuredly aim to join that club, and the former second-round pick — Washington’s teammate at Penn State — could up his price with a quality contract year.
Walker profiles as a 2027 franchise tag candidate. Tied to a fifth-year option salary of $15.2MM, the former No. 1 overall pick totaled 21.5 sacks from 2023-24 before tallying just 3.5 in 14 games last season. The Georgia alum posted fewer QB hits (13) and tackles for loss (eight) compared to his 2023 or ’24 totals; his 19 pressures tied for 66th. Josh Hines-Allen, who finished fifth in pressures (with 46) last season, received the tag after playing out his fifth-year option season. The Baalke regime extended him on a five-year, $141.25MM deal.
With the cap rising by nearly $50MM since that contract was finalized, Walker’s camp will likely set a higher price. But he is not coming off an especially impressive season. Still, the longtime Hines-Allen sidekick would be one of the 2027 market’s top prizes were he to make it there. We are a long way away from that, and the tag serves as a mechanism for the Jags to impede that path. Walker, whom Baalke drafted ahead of All-Pro Aidan Hutchinson, will not turn 26 until December. That stands to strengthen his leverage in extension talks.
Jaguars TE Brenton Strange Activated Off IR
The Jaguars are getting a key cog back in their offense today. In preparation for tomorrow’s matchup with the Cardinals, Jacksonville has activated tight end Brenton Strange from injured reserve. 
The team also announced defensive tackle Matt Dickerson and safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig as standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow. Dickerson was called up as an elevation last week, but Silmon-Craig will be making his NFL debut, if the undrafted rookie out of Colorado sees the field in Arizona.
Strange has been an interesting weapon in Duval since getting drafted in the second round two years ago out of Penn State. As a rookie sharing a position room with Evan Engram and Luke Farrell, Strange mostly heard his named called as a second tight end in heavy run packages. By Year 2, though, Strange passed up Farrell on the depth chart, and though his strengths came as a run blocking tight end, he dominated the field time during stretches missed by Engram due to injury and reeled in 40 receptions for 411 yards and two touchdowns as a result.
With Engram and Farrell no longer on the roster, Strange was expected to have a breakout year in 2025. After he exited Jacksonville’s Week 5 game with a quad injury, the team predicted at least a five-week absence. With five weekends having passed between that prediction and now, it’s safe to say they pretty much nailed that call.
Over his extended absence, the Jaguars haven’t really seen a tight end step up to fill his void. Veteran Johnny Mundt has done an admirable job of taking up Strange’s duties as a blocking tight end, and Hunter Long has gotten some run, as well, but quarterback Trevor Lawrence hasn’t really looked their way in the passing game. The two have combined for 19 catches on 32 targets, totaling 168 yards and two touchdowns so far this year. In four and a half games before injury, Strange, alone, tallied 20 catches on eight fewer targets for 204 yards.
Lawrence should be happy to get Strange back in the lineup. Since Strange last played in early-October, Lawrence has seen rookie No. 2 overall pick Travis Hunter‘s season ended, and his top target, Brian Thomas Jr., has already been ruled out for the third game in a row. Strange will be added to a passing attack now led by receivers Parker Washington and Dyami Brown.
Jaguars Open TE Brenton Strange’s Practice Window
The Jaguars could have a key offensive contributor back in the fold as early as Week 11. Tight end Brenton Strange is nearing a return to action.
Head coach Liam Coen said (via ESPN’s Michael DiRocco) the team has designated Strange for return from injured reserve. The Jaguars are hopeful the third-year tight end will be able to play on Sunday against the Chargers. A determination on that front will need to be made over the coming days, but in any case it is of course a positive development his 21-day activation window has been opened.
Strange landed on IR just over one month ago due to a quad injury which included damage to his hip along with a ligament tear. No surgery took place, but the rehab process carried a timeline which made the move to injured reserve a logical one. Strange has missed the requisite minimum of four games, so he is clear to return to the active roster at any point. Once that happens, a notable figure will be back in place.
The 24-year-old made 14 combined starts across the 2023 and ’24 campaigns. As expected, Strange’s workload increased once more this season prior to the injury. The former second-rounder’s 2025 snap share sits at 74% and his 41 receiving yards per game are comfortably a career high. A full-time starting role will await Strange upon return.
Jacksonville has lost three of four, cooling off from an impressive start to the campaign. The team sits 18th in the NFL in both total and scoring offense, and No. 2 pick Travis Hunter is on IR due to a knee injury suffered in practice. Brian Thomas Jr. and trade acquisition Jakobi Meyers will lead the way at the receiver position moving forward, but Strange will reprise his role as a regular option in the passing game once he is in the fold.
The Jags used the designated for return option with Jalen McLeod during roster cutdowns, so his IR activation is already accounted for. Once Strange is brought back onto the active roster, the team will have six activations remaining.
Jaguars Place TE Brenton Strange On IR
OCTOBER 10: Strange’s quad injury also affected his hip and includes a ligament tear, per FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz. He will not need surgery, but he is expected to miss at least five weeks. That would sideline Strange until Week 12 or beyond with the hopes of returning late in the season to help the Jaguars make the playoffs for just the second time in seven years.
OCTOBER 7: Following one of their biggest wins of the Trevor Lawrence era, the Jaguars will lose a key pass catcher for a while. They are placing Brenton Strange on IR, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets.
Strange suffered a quad injury, one NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo expects to keep him out for roughly a month. That would align with an IR-return timeline. The team’s top tight end has been a key part of its 4-1 start, making some contributions during its 31-28 win over Kansas City on Monday night. He caught his lone target for 22 yards before injuring his hip late in the first half.
The Jaguars gave Strange a vote of confidence upon releasing Evan Engram early this offseason. While Engram has battled injuries during an unremarkable start in Denver, Strange has fared well to start the season. Strange has 20 receptions for 204 yards, posting three games with at least 45 yards during the Jags’ surprising start.
As part of a Jaguars pass-catching group that features high-profile wide receivers Brian Thomas and Travis Hunter, Strange leads the team in receptions. He’s tied for second in targets (24) and yards. His 73.8 percent snap share easily paces all Jaguars tight ends. Johnny Mundt (34.5) and Hunter Long (23.4) are next in line, though they’ve combined for just nine catches and 58 yards. Quintin Morris has almost exclusively played on special teams.
The Jaguars will now have to go at least four games without their No. 1 tight end. With the Jaguars’ bye coming in Week 8, Strange won’t be eligible to return until a Week 11 meeting with the Chargers on Nov. 16. For now, they’ll go forward with Mundt, Long, and Morris as their options at the position.
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
Jaguars Sign Round 2 TE Brenton Strange, Several Others
The Jaguars used their franchise tag on Evan Engram in March, and while the parties have until mid-July to finalize an extension agreement, the team added another tight end in the draft. Brenton Strange, Jacksonville’s second-round pick, agreed to terms on his rookie deal Friday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets.
Strange will head to Florida after a career at Penn State. Scouts Inc. slotted the ex-Nittany Lions pass catcher as this draft class’ seventh-ranked tight end. He went to the Jags at No. 61 overall. Jacksonville moved down from its No. 56 overall slot, sliding five spots and picking up a fourth-round pick (No. 136) from Chicago to do so.
In Strange, the Jags will pick up a 253-pound pass catcher who totaled 32 receptions for 362 yards and five touchdowns last season. Strange earned third-team All-Big Ten honors for his senior-year work. This is the highest the Jaguars have drafted a tight end since taking Marcedes Lewis in the 2006 first round.
Prior to Engram’s promising 2022 season, the Jaguars had encountered steady trouble generating much production from the tight end spot. The former Giants first-rounder’s 766 receiving yards represent a franchise single-season record. Engram has said he wants to stay with the Jags on a long-term deal, but the sides were not believed to be close on terms yet. If Engram does not sign by July 17, he will play the 2023 season on the franchise tag.
In addition to Strange, the Jags also inked third-round running back Tank Bigsby (Auburn) to his four-year rookie contract. They also signed fourth-round linebacker Ventrell Miller (Florida), sixth-round cornerbacks Christian Braswell (Rutgers) and Erick Hallett (Pittsburgh), seventh-round offensive lineman Cooper Hodges (Appalachian State) and seventh-round defensive tackle Raymond Vohasek (North Carolina). The Jags began their rookie minicamp Friday.
Dolphins Notes: Draft, Trades, TEs, Hill
With only four picks in this year’s draft (and none in the top 50), the Dolphins have received less attention than many other teams in the build-up to next week’s event. They, like their counterparts, have continued to do their homework on positions of need, however.
That includes taking a look at several tight end options, as detailed by Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Dolphins have met with Georgia alum Darnell Washington, who has been one of the more popular prospects at the position and is likely to be off the board by the time Miami is on the clock at No. 51. Other options they have looked into include Tucker Kraft (South Dakota State), Sam LaPorta (Iowa), Brenton Strange (Penn State) and Luke Musgrave (Oregon State). The Dolphins are in need of a Mike Gesicki replacement after the veteran had a underwhelming 2022 campaign and departed in free agency.
Another spot which is receiving plenty of attention, per Jackson, is the interior offensive line. Miami has “given serious thought” to drafting a guard, and the position will be a target for undrafted free agents as well. The Dolphins’ o-line faces questions heading into the 2023 season, but Austin Jackson‘s future appears to remain at right tackle. Keeping him at that spot would create the need for at least a depth addition or two along the interior this spring.
Here are some other notes out of South Beach:
- Given their lack of draft capital, the Dolphins would not represent a strong candidate to trade up. However, a number of teams have called them to discuss the possibility of moving into the first round, as noted (on Twitter) by Outkick’s Armando Salguero. With the Dolphins only owning one third-round pick in 2023 after No. 51, along with one sixth- and seventh-rounder, a package including 2024 picks would be needed for such a scenario to take place. As a result, it remains unlikely at this point that Miami will be involved on Day 1 next week.
- Part of the reason the team is short on picks, of course, is the price they paid for Tyreek Hill. The four-time All-Pro wideout signed a four-year, $120MM deal upon his arrival in Miami, something which was driven in large part by the changes in the position’s market. As Hill recently acknowledged on a podcast appearance on Sports Radio 810 WHB, the lucrative nature of Christian Kirk‘s Jaguars pact (four years, $72MM) influenced his asking price. “He signed the deal and like he surpassed me, and I’m like, bro, I compete on the field, and I also compete on the business out of this, too,” Hill said. “So, I’m not going to let Christian Kirk have a higher contract than me. I’m just not” (h/t Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams).
- Given their situation with only four picks, Miami is in line to be active on the UDFA market following the draft. As Jackson writes, the team could be eyeing a kicker addition to serve as competition during OTAs and training camp. Jason Sanders as been in place as the team’s kicker since being drafted in 2018, and has remained consistent from short and medium range during his tenure. Sanders has gone just 2-for-6 on kicks of 50 or more yards in each of the past two campaigns, however, which could open the door to a strong-legged rookie making an impact in the summer.