The Jacksonville Jaguars began to trim down their roster to 53 players when they released linebacker Amari Burney. They've since made several more moves. One involves tight end Hunter Long.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Jacksonville is trading Long to the Arizona Cardinals. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed as of this writing, but it doesn't seem like it's a swap of players. It will be a matter of time before the team announces the move.
By trading Long, the Jags could be paving the way for Quintin Morris to stay on the 53-man rosfter if they keep four tight ends.
Why the Jaguars traded Hunter Long to the Cardinals
A third-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2021, Hunter Long was held back by injuries early in his career. After two seasons in South Beach, he bolted for the Los Angeles Rams, where he spent two seasons.
Following his stint with the Rams, Long signed a two-year deal with the Jaguars in 2025. He was brought in, along with Hunter Long, to back up Brenton Strange after Evan Engram was released. However, Jacksonville also inked Quintin Morris after the 2025 draft, and he moved ahead of both Long and Mundt on the depth chart.
Earlier this year, the Jags re-signed Morris, showing just how much they liked him. They also released Mundt. Jacksonville then threw a curveball when they used a pair of draft picks on Nate Boerkircher and Tanner Koziol.
With Koziol and Boerkircher in the mix, Hunter suddenly became expendable. Not because he was bad. The former Boston College Eagle is a solid blocker with pass-catching skills. However, Koziol and Boerkircher have way more upside than he does.
Still, the Jaguars gave Long a chance to compete for a job in training camp and the preseason. He didn't do much of note until the finale when he reeled in a 34-yard catch. That wasn't enough to keep him on the roster.
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The Jaguars weren't going to keep Hunter Long
Long had $2 million in base salary next season. By releasing him, the team's brass is freeing up $1.387 million in space.
Because of his cap number, Hunter Long always was a cut candidate. That the Jags managed to potentially get something in return for him is a plus. Even if he had stayed, he would have barely got any playing time, so the best thing was to let him join a club where he can play. The Cardinals will give him that chance.
With Long out of the picture, it will be interesting to see if Jacksonville keeps Quintin Morris. But if he doesn't get a roster spot, he'll surely land on the practice squad, and the team could promote him on game day if needed. That's what happened last year before he was signed to the active roster.
The truth is that the Jaguars were loaded at tight. They simply had no room for Hunter Long, so trading him to the Cards was the best course of action for everyone.
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