Are Liam Coen and James Gladstone trying to pull one on the rest of the NFL? After months of momentum building toward Tank Bigsby or even Bayshul Tuten overtaking Travis Etienne as the Jacksonville Jaguars' starting running back, Etienne played every first-team rep in the team's preseason opener.
Maybe Etienne is the lead candidate to begin the season as the starter after all.
Or maybe, just maybe, the Jaguars are trying to boost his trade value before shipping him out.
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Jaguars might be trying to cook up a Travis Etienne trade during preseason
When you first look at Etienne's stats in his three NFL seasons, he looks like a productive running back. The Clemson product had two consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns before dealing with injuries in 2024.
But a closer look shows that he's been one of the most inefficient backs in the league over the last two seasons. He averaged just 3.8 yards per carry in 2023, and he followed it up with an abysmal 3.6 yards per carry last season.
Etienne has the athleticism you'd want in a starting running back, but he lacks the vision and patience to find holes at times. As a result, he rarely makes the most out of his touches.
Fans have been calling for a switch at running back for quite some time now. 2023 third-round pick Tank Bigsby seems like the likely choice to step in, while rookie Bayshul Tuten is picking up steam as a potential contributor.
Etienne may have been the starter in the Jags' preseason opener, but that could just be the team trying to put him on display to entice a potential trade suitor. Coen has been adamant that the team has no plans to trade Etienne in the past, but what else would he say?
With quality depth behind him and no ties between Etienne and the current regime, the Jaguars might be quick to let him go if the right offer comes in.
In any case, the veteran back didn't exactly help his trade value with his performance in the preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He turned his two carries into just six yards and had one catch for ten yards.
Notably, Etienne declined to speak to the media after practice on Tuesday because of muscle cramps, per ESPN's Michael DiRocco. It takes a bit of conjecture to get there, but it looks like a trade might be coming before the end of the preseason.
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