Sportsnaut
After an incredible 13-win season, the Jacksonville Jaguars had some talented players set to hit free agency this offseason. They let many of them walk, including starting running back Travis Etienne Jr., who signed a four-year, $48 million contract elsewhere. Surprisingly, the Jaguars didn’t add a lot of competition.
Yet, they did add some thunder to the backfield by signing Chris Rodriguez Jr., whom Jaguars head coach Liam Coen coached in college at Kentucky. But Rodriguez isn’t slated for a starting role.
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In the aftermath of letting Etienne walk in free agency, the Jaguars were frequently linked to potential replacements. Those included trading for the player who’s set to replace Etienne, Alvin Kamara. But after he agreed to a contract restructure to stick with the New Orleans Saints, Kamara has been eliminated from the picture.
Rather, the Jaguars seem intent on solving the RB position from within, which means turning to Bhayshul Tuten, the 104th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, for a starting role. Yet, the Jaguars are really confident in the 23-year-old who clocked a blistering 4.28-second 40 Yard Dash coming out of Virginia Tech.
Recently, coach Coen appeared on ‘The Schrager Hour‘ podcast and revealed his belief that Tuten is in for a “big year.”
Tuten didn’t get many opportunities last season (93 touches). Yet, he did manage to rack up five touchdown rushes on just 83 carries. Though after averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, there’s hope Tuten can do more with a bigger workload, going way past the 307 rushing yards he recorded as a rookie. But he certainly has the backing of the coaching staff, which is important for all players, especially young ones looking to find their footing.
Whether he’s ready for it or not, Tuten’s in line to be the Jaguars’ first-string running back. It’s a great opportunity, one that could put him on the path to stardom for an offense that seemingly has everything else it needs, now they’re just waiting on the backfield to catch up.
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