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November 23, 2025 10 mins
Jaguars Activate TE Strange Before Cardinals Game
Mark as Played
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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the deep dive. If you're looking for that
strategic blueprint that's kind of hidden inside the dry language
of an NFL transaction report, you are in the right place.
We're cutting through the noise.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Today, Yeah, we really are. Our source material is a
deep dive into the Jacksonville Jaguars final roster moves, specifically
the urgent shifts they made on Saturday, November twenty second,
right before their big game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
And the mission today isn't just to read off the
names that moved. No, it's to decode the team's crisis
management plan. I mean roster moves made forty eight hours
before kickoff. Yeah, they aren't just administrative checkboxes, not at all.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
They are real time, high stakes decisions. They tell you
who's hurt, just how bad the situation is, and what
the coaching staff values most in that exact moment.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Exactly when a team uses its injured reserve and practice
squad elevations this late in the week, they are basically
telling you where the active roster has failed them.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Right, we're analyzing a strategy that is well, it's by attrition, and.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
The most pivotal move here the one that really tells
the biggest story about their offensive need is the activation
of tight end Breton Strange. This is the centerpiece of
the whole report.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
It absolutely is. I mean, the move confirms he was
officially activated from injured reserve, which paves the way for
him to play Sunday. When a tight end is your
headline news for a Saturday, you know you're desperate for
help at that position.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Okay, so let's put his absence into context for everyone.
Strange had missed five straight games.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Five that's a long time, a.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
Long time sidelined with a hip injury. He got all
the way back in week five and five games. I mean,
that's a huge chunk of the season, especially when you
think about what he was doing before he went down.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
And this is where we shift from just looking at
the injury to looking at the scheme at the time
he got hurt. And this right here is the crucial
data point. Breton Strange actually led the Jaguars in total
catches with twenty with twenty, and he was also second
on the entire time team and receiving yards with two
hundred and four.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Wait, hold on, So he missed five games and he
was still the statistical leader in a major category when
he was activated.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
That's great.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
Doesn't that immediately tell us less about Strange himself and
maybe more about the offensive scheme they were running early
in the year. It implies this massive, almost disproportionate reliance
on the tight end.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
That's the key insight you've hit on it. It suggests
two things at once. First, that the tight end position
was central to their base offensive identity.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Lots of two tight end sets.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Probably exactly a lot of twelve personnel emphasizing blocking and
those short to intermediate seam routes. But second, it also
hints at a slower start or maybe some depth issues
among the wide receivers which forced them to rely on
the tight ends to move the chains.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
So his return isn't just replacing a.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Body, No, it's restoring the integrity of their preferred play
calling system.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
It's the difference between slapping on a band aid and
actually restoring a function. But he missed five weeks with
a hip injury. I mean, common wisdom suggests you can't
just plug him back in and expect that same week
five production instantly. Is the coaching staff showing confidence here
or is this just an act of desperation given all
the other injuries.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
That raises a really critical point about risk calculation. The
coaching staff knows they probably won't get a full sixty
snap performance from him, No way, this is a calculated risk.
They're sacrificing that absolute certainty in his health for an
immediate tactical advantage. They need him to be effective on
third down, or maybe just effective enough in those twelve

(03:34):
personnel packages to force the Cardinals to respect the middle
of the field.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
So even if he just gives them what twenty five
high leverage.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Snaps, If he does that, they consider it a win,
a huge win.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Okay, So if he's only good for those twenty five snaps,
that pressure immediately transfers to the rest of the roster. Yeah,
a limited strange means the team has to be incredibly
careful with the rest of their tight end rotation, which
brings us to the counterpoint the sheer volume of person
and l losses that demanded this activation in the first place.
This roster move only makes sense when you understand the

(04:07):
crisis they're facing.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
The crisis is systemic. I mean, when you look at
the names the Jaguars had already ruled out on Friday.
It paints a picture of critical attrition on both sides
of the ball. This huge injury report is the real
engine behind all these weekend moves.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Let's list those losses because you know these are not
minor dings. These are impact.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Players, starters in some cases.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
Right. So, on defense, they lost defensive end Trayvon Walker
he's dealing with a knee issue, a huge loss, and
linebacker Yeser Abdullah with a finger injury. Then on offense,
the problems are arguably even more acute. Wide receiver Brian
Thomas Junior is out with an ankle yep.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Then you have right tackle Anton Harrison managing both knee
and ankle.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
Issues, and to tie it all together, tight end Hunter
Long is also ruled out with hip and knee problems.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
That list right there. It just clarifies the stakes. Immediately
you lose Walker, your primary edge rusher, and your pass
rest rotation is compromised.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Right your edge containment is.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Shot, and losing Abdullah strains your linebacker depth. But then
the simultaneous loss of Thomas Junior and Harrison that really
hurts the offense's ability to operate anywhere outside of short routes.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
And that tight end possession. It really just encapsulates the
fragility you mentioned. They are activating Brenton Strange, who's recovering from.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
A hip issue, only to rule out another tight end,
Hunter Long, because of his hip and knee issues. It
is positional attrition at its absolute worst.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
So they didn't bring Strange back to enhance the position.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
No, they brought him back to prevent a total positional collapse.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
It's like trading one injury concern for a slightly lesser
one out of pure necessity.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
That's the definition of it. Long's combined injuries likely put
him out of commission entirely, whereas Strange has at least
passed that IR threshold he's functionally ready. His return is
literally plugging the Hunter Long sized hole that opened up
on the depth chart just days before the game.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
Without strings, they'd be running on fumes completely.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Their whole twelve personnel strategy becomes impossible.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
So now that we've established the depth of this crisis,
five key players out, including a starting THEE and a
starting receiver, we can see why they made the other
smaller moves exactly.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
The practice squad elevations suddenly become these essential strategic countermeasures.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
They didn't just stop with strange noop.

Speaker 2 (06:24):
They elevated two players from the practice squad at the
same time, defensive lineman Matt Dickerson and defensive back Cameron
Silman Craig.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
And this tells you exactly where the most vulnerable points
on the depth chart still are even after accounting for
the losses of guys like Walker and Abdullah.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
For sure, I mean, you lose a premier defensive end
like Trevon Walker, your defensive line rotation gets very thin,
very quickly.

Speaker 1 (06:48):
Which explains Matt Dickerson the d lineman. But why a
defensive back Silman Craig.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Well, Dickerson is there to reinforce the interior and just
maintain some integrity against the run. Walker's absence strains the
higher front seven, so Dickerson provides crucial fresh legs.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Okay, that makes sense.

Speaker 2 (07:04):
As for Simon Craig, the dB elevation, that's about compensating
for potential weakness in the secondary and on special teams.
The Cardinals offense often targets specific matchups. When your injury
list is that long, even minor tweaks to your secondary
rotation become acute needs.

Speaker 1 (07:21):
So this isn't just about filling spots on a roster sheet.
It's about specialized deployment.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
It's very tactical.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
They're bringing in guys who, yeah, they may not be starting,
but they can contribute ten, maybe fifteen key snaps in
specific situations where the starters are tired or the opponent's
exploiting a matchup.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
Absolutely, think about the pressure on the right side of
the offensive line with Anton Harrison out, If the offense
is struggling to maintain protection because Harrison and Thomas Junior
are gone, the defense is going to be on the
field a lot longer. Oh yeah, Suddenly Dickerson's role becomes
even more vital to prevent the front four from completely
running out of gas by the third quarter.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
So let's zoom back out and synthesize what this all
means means for the team's ambitions. We're looking at a
roster in flux, for sure, driven by this injury wave.
But this isn't the team playing for draft position.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
That's the critical context. The Jaguars are six and four,
it's competed. They are actively fighting for a playoff spot
and you know, control of their division at this stage
of the season. A loss that comes from fatigue or
a positional mismatch. It could derail their entire momentum.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
So Stranger's activation moves from being simply helpful to being
well operationally mandatory. It's a massive gamble that he can
restore enough offensive function for them to win a high
stakes game.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
While the rest of the roster is running on fumes. Yeah,
it is the very essence of high stakes sports management.
They're facing the Cardinals, and every single move from activating
their leading receiver after a five week absence to bring
up a practice.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
Squad lineman, it's all aimed at one thing.

Speaker 2 (08:54):
Maximizing their competitive efficiency for one Sunday afternoon. It's a
unified strategy of damage control. They need Strange to stabilize
the offense, while they need Dickerson and Silman Craig to
provide specific, targeted relief on defense just to survive sixty minutes.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
So the key takeaway for you when you're looking at
transaction reports like this is to connect the dots. Don't
just look at who's moving, look at the domino effect.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
Yes, the insight is in weighing the scale of the
returning players pass productivity. You know, Strange leading the team
in catches against the sheer scope of the players rolled out.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
Five starters are high impact, rotational guys.

Speaker 2 (09:30):
Exactly, if Strange only plays fifty percent of the snaps,
who's covering the other half? If Harrison is out at
right tackle, how does that strain the whole protection scheme?
That holistic view is where you see the true strategic
risk the team is taking.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
This has been a deeply insightful look behind the curtain.
We analyze the activation of Breton Strange, underscoring his prior
statistical significance leading the team in catches. We covered the
defense of necessity driving the elevations of Matt Dickerson and
Cameron Silman Craig, and we establish that overall strategic urgency
by just reviewing that extensive, high priority injury list Walker,

(10:06):
Thomas Junior, Harrison, Long, and Abdullah.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
And here's the final provocative thought I want to leave
you with, building on that offensive scheme analysis who were
talking about, given that early season reliance on Strange and
now with Brian Thomas Junior also out, does the successful
activation of Strange simply allow the team to return to
their Week one to five comfort zone where the tight
end was the primary target or does the fact that

(10:31):
Strange missed five games and still led the team in catches.
Does that indicate that the team's overall receiving depth challenge
is actually far greater than these specific moves can ever
hope to solve in the long term, that.

Speaker 1 (10:44):
Koshin raises the stakes dramatically for the rest of their season.
They might win on Sunday, but what happens next week?
Thank you for joining us for this deep dive.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
Always a pleasure.

Speaker 1 (10:52):
We'll catch you next time.
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