There’s been trade rumors surrounding Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne, but the former Clemson star isn’t going anywhere, according to Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.
Coen met with the media this week during OTAs and silenced the speculation that Jacksonville might trade Etienne away to another team.
“He’s done a great job,” Coen said. “I don’t really understand some of the stuff I’ve kind of seen out there. That’s absolutely inaccurate.”
With the emergence of Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby in 2024, there was thought that Jacksonville could move on from Etienne, and that buzz only grew louder when the Jags took a pair of running backs – Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen – in this year’s NFL Draft.
Last season, Bigsby was the Jags’ leading rusher with 766 yards and seven touchdowns on 168 carries (4.6 average). Meanwhile, Etienne finished with 558 yards and two touchdowns on 150 carries, averaging 3.7 yards per rush. After back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons in 2022 and ‘23, Etienne’s production fell off last season due to, in part, the fact he was hampered by injuries.
Although there’s been uncertainty about Etienne’s future with the franchise – at least, on the outside looking in – Coen certainly likes what he’s seen from Etienne so far and had nothing but positive things to say about the former first-round draft pick.
“Every day, everything we’ve asked him to do, he’s done at a good clip for us,” Coen said. “I mean, the ability in the screen game, to hand him jet sweeps. His vision, so far, in the run game has been good. He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and more. There’s been a consistency.”
Etienne is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2025 after being selected by the Jags with the 25th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
After missing his entire 2021 rookie campaign due to a season-ending Lisfranc injury he suffered in that preseason, Etienne has rushed for 2,691 yards and 18 touchdowns on 637 carries over the first three seasons of his pro career (2022-24).
–Photo courtesy of Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images