To recap.
Peter Strzok, the lead investigator in the Clinton email scandal, was sending pro-Clinton and anti-Trump messages during his extramarital affair with a woman working for FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. McCabe’s wife had received a sizable amount of money from a Clinton ally. Strzok was on Mueller’s team until he had to be removed because of his shenanigans. Strzok’s investigation of Trump relied on the Steele dossier that was paid for by Hillary and handfed by at least one current Russian intelligence operative. That was the same dossier that figures in the FBI chose to fund despite its utter lack of credibility and its partisan origins in the Clinton campaign.
Most of the texts consist of Strzok and Page, the McCabe employee, bashing Trump and discussing Hillary's viability. This is a major problem considering Strzok was on the Hillary email investigation (and played a role in Comey's exoneration of her) and was also on Mueller's team and interviewed Flynn. But you can argue, as some have, that investigators are human beings and will have political views.
Except this particular exchange hints at something far more troubling.
“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way [Trump] gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk,” FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok wrote in a cryptic text message to Lisa Page, an FBI lawyer and his mistress.
“It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40,” Strzok wrote in the text, dated Aug. 15, 2016.
Assuming Andy is Andrew McCabe, which is likely considering that Page worked for him, it suggests that Strzok, Page and McCabe had discussed some sort of plan to take down Trump.
The pair exchanged another cryptic text message that same day.
“Maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace,” Page wrote.
“I can protect our country at many levels, not sure if that helps,” Strzok replied.
So we are probably talking investigation.
This is taking place in Aug 2016. The FBI's official deal with Steele only happens a few months later. It's midway between the two FISA requests. The second one was almost certainly influenced by the Steele dossier. August would have been a good time to talk strategy. And that's what may have been taking place.