The Jacksonville Jaguars bolstered their wide receiver room when they traded for Jakobi Meyers, but they also made an attempt to address other needs at the November 4 deadline.
Just recently, insider Jordan Schultz broke the news that the Jags made a strong push for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams before the New York Jets sent him to the Dallas Cowboys for a package of draft picks and Kenny Clark. More recently, a trusted Green Bay Packers voice revealed that Jacksonville wanted to bring in reinforcements at tight end.
The Jaguars tried to trade for Luke Musgrave
Justis Mosqueda of Acme Packing Co. said on the Pack-A-Day podcast that the Jags and the Denver Broncos showed interest in Luke Musgrave before the deadline, noting that it all came to a halt when the Packers' depth at tight end ran thin.
"Not that much," Mosqueda told host Andy Herman when asked what he learned at the trade deadline. "We had a we would have traded Luke Musgrave to either the Denver Broncos or the Jacksonville Jaguars for like a fifth-round pick, had Tucker Kraft not gotten hurt, and Ben Sims not been claimed by the Minnesota Vikings for a while."
Mosqueda continued, "It looked like it was going to happen, apparently. And then obviously, the situation changes when you're down two tight ends within a week, basically. So that was the situation. I probably would have pulled the trigger on a fifth. I would have taken it."
Tucker Kraft was taken one round after Luke Musgrave, a second-round selection in 2023. He worked his way up the depth chart and became TE1. However, he suffered an ACL injury in Week 10 that will most likely cut his season short. Couple that with the fact that the Minnesota Vikings poached Ben Sims off the Green Bay practice squad, and it's easy to see why all inquiries about Musgrave were ultimately shut down.
Before the ACL injury, Kraft had made eight starts and hauled in 32 receptions for 489 yards with six touchdowns. With him out of the picture, Musgrave will be asked to step up.
The former Oregon State Beaver missed a combined 16 games the past two years but made a strong impression in training camp and showed that he was deserving of a bigger role. He'll get it in light of Kraft's injury. Below's the Pack-A-Day episode where Mosqueda discusses the Jaguars' interest in Musgrave. The remarks start at around the 52:00 mark.
Luke Musgrave would've given the Jaguars a much-needed boost on offense
The Jaguars placed Brenton Strange on injured Reserve after he suffered a quad injury in Week 5, ensuring that he would miss at least four games. More than a month later, there haven't been any updates, so there's a chance the former Penn State Nittany Lion isn't close to returning.
Compounding the issue is that Jacksonville lacks depth at tight end, with Quintin Morris and Hunter Long dealing with injuries in recent weeks. That's why nobody batted an eye that the team's brass showed interest in Luke Musgrave. If anything, it's a bit surprising that they didn't turn their attention to David Njoku or Michael Meyer, other tight ends who were the subject of trade chatter.
In the end, the Jaguars might've chosen to go with their current tight end group because they expect Brenton Strange to come back at some point of the season, but regardless of the reason, Justis Mosqueda's intel made it clear that they made an attempt to add reinforcements at the trade deadline.