The Jacksonville Jaguars did a superb job of addressing most needs the past few months, but a few position groups could still use a boost. Tight end was one of them, which is why it's not particularly shocking to see them bringing in reinforcements.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reports that Jacksonville is adding Quintin Morris to round out their tight end room. After going undrafted in 2021, the Bowling Green product signed with the Buffalo Bills, where he spent the last three seasons mostly serving as a pass blocker. He's appeared in 45 games with four starts and hauled in 15 receptions for 146 yards with three touchdowns.
As of this writing, the terms of the contract are unknown, but it will be a matter of time before the team announces the move and shares the details.
Morris was a restricted free agent in 2025, but the Bills didn't place a tender on him, so he hit the open market. The decision is understandable since it would've cost them $3.6 million to re-sign him. Perhaps they considered bringing him back at some point of the offseason, but that will no longer be possible after joining the Jags.
Last year, Morris went toe to toe with Zach Davison for the No. 3 spot in Buffalo and ended up winning. With the Jaguars, he could fill a similar role.
What does the Quintin Morris means for the Jaguars and the TE group?
The Jacksonville Jaguars cut ties with Evan Engram before free agency, not only because they freed up $6.1 million in cap space, but also because Brenton Strange in 2024 that he was ready for a bigger role.
After an unremarkable rookie campaign, the former Penn State registered 40 receptions for 411 yards with three touchdowns. The fact that the Jags added a pair of blocking tight ends in Johnny Mundt and Hunter Long to add depth showed that they won't lean on the tight end position too much in the passing game. Quintin Morris won't change that.
Like Mundt and Long, Morris is mostly a blocking tight end. With the Buffalo Bills last year, he played 226 offensive snaps and blocked in 146 of them, according to Pro Football Focus. Regardless of how much playing time he gets, he'll again serve as a blocker in both the running and the passing game. And that's the thing: Even though Strange is TE, he won't see as many targets as Engram saw in 2022 or 2023 under Doug Pederson.
The tight ends in Liam Coen's scheme are often asked to block first and serve as targets in the passing game second. Had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers not suffered injuries at wide receiver in 2024, they wouldn't have leaned on Cade Otton as much as they did.
Circling back to the addition of Morris, it's a strong sign that the Jaguars are going to ask their tight ends to block in their running game. And that's a good thing. In previous years, they used to be pushed around at the line of scrimmage. That will no longer be the case behind a beefed-up offensive line and their revamped tight end group.
Sure, you could make the case that the Jags should've made a splash move, but the truth is that they didn't need a tight end who can catch 100 passes in a season. Otherwise, they would've kept Engram. Instead, they need tight ends who can set the tone and pave the way for Bhayshul Tuten, Tank Bigsby, and Travis Etienne in the running game. Quintin Morris certainly fits the bill.
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