After the 2024 season, rumors emerged that the Jacksonville Jaguars could trade Travis Etienne. And although head coach Liam Coen put an end to the speculation surrounding the fifth-year running back, there was always a chance that the Jags could spend him packing.
But then, the cutdown deadline came, and Etienne was still on the roster. Not only that, he's listed as the starter ahead of the Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers. Coen's latest comments help explain why that's the case.
Liam Coen says Travis Etienne's versatility will be huge for the Jaguars
Heading into the season opener, Liam Coen met with the local media and said that Travis Etienne can contribute in different ways, pointing out that he's been impressed with the work he's put in.
"Yeah, that's an evolution, like so much of what we were able to do last year in Tampa with those backs evolved, right? " Coen said when discussing all the things Etienne can do (6:47). So Week 1, Travis has been able to give us an opportunity to do that, like he's lined up in multiple different spots and handled the workload that we've given him that is different than just lining up either behind the quarterback or next to him.
Coen continued, "So I've appreciated how much he's been able to do. And it also helps us in the screen game, the pass game, because he can catch it and make people miss in space. So he's been a good pro for us. I've actually been really appreciative of the way he's gone about his work and gone about it. He was here yesterday, him and Tank were in here yesterday, and getting some extra work in. So we've got to use him as a guy that can help make plays because there's only so many plays you can dial."
"Alright, if they have to be able to do something with the ball, to be special, to continue to take the offense to the next level, and turn those 10-play drives into four, play five drives, to where we can create some explosives and just get what the run should get or the pass."
Etienne, the 25th overall pick in 2021, missed his rookie campaign with a Lisfranc injury, but logged over 1,000 rushing yards in 2022 and 2023. In that span, he also hauled in a combined 93 catches for 792 yards with one touchdown. That kind of flexibility is what makes him an ideal fit in Coen's offensive system.
With Coen as their offensive coordinator in 2024, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went from having one of the worst running games in the NFL to one of the best five.
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Travis Etienne will benefit from having a banner year with the Jaguars
As noted before, there was chatter that the Jacksonville Jaguars could trade Travis Etienne because Tank Bigsby outplayed him last year. The noise only got louder when they used a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft on Bhayshul Tuten.
However, Liam Coen emphatically said after the draft that Etienne wasn't going anywhere, and that turned out to be the case, as he's getting ready to start against the Panthers. This will give him a prime opportunity to show that he deserves to get paid, as he's entering a contract year.
Sure, there's a strong chance that Etienne will share the workload with Bigsby, but based on Liam Coen's comments, he'll be able to make a big impact next season even if he's part of a backfield committee.
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