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One day after Kyle Pitts signed a big money, three-year contract, another tight end with plenty leave to prove followed suit. Brenton Strange only has 91 receptions across three NFL seasons, but the Jacksonville Jaguars see the former second round pick as a vital piece of their offense.
Strange reportedly signed a three-year extension that will remove him from the list of pending 2027 free agents. The pact is worth up to $48 million, with $25 million guaranteed. At $16 million annually, the 25-year-old is now one of the five highest-paid tight ends (in terms of salary) in league history. It’s a raise from the base salary of nearly $1.5 million he was set to earn in 2026 and a significant bet on a player who failed to make a consistent receiving impact before head coach Liam Coen took over in 2025.

Let’s talk about why this deal makes sense, and where it could backfire.

Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (85) spikes the ball after a touchdown score during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Titans 41-7, capturing the AFC South title. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
The Jags got Strange for less than it cost the Falcons to retain Pitts, and this deal suggests a bit of bargain hunting on Jacksonville’s part. The NFL is now a landscape where Pitts is worth $18 million annually. While Strange was under contract for 2026 at a low cost, inking his extension now could generate significant savings if his explosive 2025 growth continues and the going rate for .
There are reasons to believe. Strange thrived in 2025 as the Jaguars’ passing offense rose beyond competence and into a top 10 slot under Coen. He thrived in the space created by a spread-out offense that could rely on an emerging Parker Washington and a newly added Jakobi Meyers, even as Brian Thomas Jr. backslid and Travis Hunter’s season was limited to seven games. He ran 56 more routes in 2025 than 2024 despite playing five fewer games. His 3.9 yards of separation per target were a career high, as were his 1.69 yards per route run (YPRR) — 10th best among tight ends outside of garbage time.

He did this all while roughly splitting his time as an in-line presence and in the slot (and added a handful of routes split wide as well). He was most valuable over the middle, logging 30.4 of his 38.3 receiving expected points added (EPA) on in-breaking or vertical routes up the seam. These were the tough routes, but Strange found space and served as a vital presence on key downs; 31 of his 46 catches went for either first downs or touchdowns.
Before 2025, you could see flashes in Strange’s game to suggest this breakout. Those moments were scattershot, however. Last fall was the first time he had either multiple catches or at least 20 receiving yards every regular season game played, leading to career highs and a 17-game pace of 65 catches and 765 yards.
He’s emerged as a trustworthy blocker, occasionally delivering pancakes and generally thriving in zone and man situations. The Jags’ run game still sputtered last fall thanks in part to uneven receiving returns (opponents stacked the box on more than a quarter of Jacksonville’s offensive snaps), but it’s clear Strange can be a high-level contributor in every phase you need a tight end to complete.
There are concerns as well. Strange has six career touchdowns. In his breakthrough 2025, both his target share (from 15.8 to 14.7 percent) and catch rate (76.7 percent to 60) declined in the red zone. He recorded a negative yards after catch over expected (YACOE) for the second time in his career. He was shut down in his team’s playoff loss to the Bills, catching only two balls on five targets for nine yards — though he made up for his lack of impact through the air by helping clear the way for 6.7 yards per carry on the ground.

If last season was his plateau and not a link in a chain of growth, the Jaguars will be paying borderline All-Pro money for a player who might not make it to a Pro Bowl. Clearly, Coen and company don’t think that’s the case. They see this extension as a lottery ticket — an expensive one, but one that could generate excess cap room for years to come on a contending team. Given how Strange looked in 2025, the odds are in their favor.
Grade: B+
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Brenton Strange extension grade: Savvy investment, or cart before horse?
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