Bigger plans appeared in the works for Travis Hunter following the Jaguars’ bye, but those are suddenly on hold. Liam Coen said (via ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco) the two-way player will be placed on IR.
A knee injury sustained during Thursday practice will lead Hunter off the active roster, representing a blow to both the Jags’ offensive and defensive units. In a rookie season that has not seen the No. 2 overall pick justify his draft slot, Hunter will now need an unknown rehab timetable before attempting a belated resurgence. The team is still assessing the injury, Coen adds (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo).
While the extent of the injury is not known, the team quickly announcing an IR move is certainly not good news regarding the potential for a late-season comeback. The Jags were indeed planning on increasing Hunter’s role on offense, according to NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe. Through seven games, the Heisman winner caught 28 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown. The Jags had used him as a Brian Thomas Jr. complementary piece early, but the rookie has been unable to hit the ground running — albeit with a historically unique workload.
The Jags used Hunter on 67% of their offensive plays and 36% of their defensive snaps before the bye. While some teams viewed the Colorado standout as a better cornerback, the Jags were among those to see him more as an impact wide receiver. Team brass confirmed that upon trading up for him — in a deal that sent the Browns 2025 draft ammo and a 2026 first-round pick — but the rollout for the two-way phenom has been slow.
Hunter padded his numbers in garbage time of the Rams’ 35-7 win over the Jags in London; he finished south of 35 receiving yards in four of his first seven NFL games. Though, Hunter made a memorable deep grab in Jacksonville’s upset win over Kansas City in Week 5 and had been progressing in Coen’s offense. It will certainly be interesting to see how long of a return timetable — should a 2025 comeback be in play — will be in store here.
More to come.