The Jacksonville Jaguars came out of the 36-29 meltdown to the Houston Texans needing to answer plenty of questions. Their pass rush, or lack thereof, is arguably the biggest one. The offensive line's inability to block is also up there. That said, those two are far from the only two issues plaguing the team.
One that's not getting nearly enough attention is the lack of production at tight end. Then again, injuries have depleted the depth at the position in recent weeks, so it's kind of understandable that there's been a drop-off. The good news is that reinforcements are on the way.
The Jaguars are opening the window for Brenton Strange to practice
Liam Coen met with the local media one day after the meltdown against the Texans. He said that the team will open the 21-window for Brenton Strange to return, noting that Jacksonville will bring him along slowly.
"We'll open up that window this week to get him going, get him practicing a little bit here this week, and see what that looks like, Wednesday, Thursday, specifically to see how he's feeling, see how he's looking," Coen said during his media availability session Monday (7:27 mark). "I know he's very eager to get out there and compete and play and make an impact on our offense like he was doing before he got banged up."
Coen continued, "So, trying not to put a ton of huge expectations on him. You know, different pressures, it's more just, 'Hey, let's get you out there and get practicing again. Get catching the ball from the quarterback again to see, to see what it looks like.' We're obviously hopeful, but have to take it day to day."
Strange originally landed on the Injured Reserve after suffering a quad injury in the win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Players who are placed on IR need to sit out at least four games before they can return. The third-year tight end already missed that amount of contests, which led the team to open his 21-day window to return.
During said window, teams need to activate the player. Otherwise, he'll remain on IR the remainder of the season. This means that the Jaguars believe Strange is close to returning. At the time of his quad injury, he had a team-best 20 receptions for 204 yards. But aside from his catching abilities, the offense missed his blocking chops.
Strange himself has said that he takes pride in his blocking, so having him back will give the Jaguars a much-needed boost.
The Jaguars need Brenton Strange to return ASAP
Tight end is far from the Jaguars' issue right now, but that doesn't mean they could use a boost at the position. Hunter Long was ruled out for the Texans game, and Johnny Mundt got the start. Both are solid blockers, but neither is as dominant in that area as Brenton Strange or as good a pass catcher.
Granted, Strange won't single-handedly turn things around, but he's the kind of player who sets the tone. The Jaguars currently need as many of those as they can get.
Ultimately, having another weapon (and a pretty good one at that) can do nothing but help Trevor Lawrence and the offense. And with Brenton Strange soon returning to the lineup, the Jaguars can turn their attention to other issues plaguing the roster.