Big Cat Country
The Jacksonville Jaguars will place two-way rookie Travis Hunter on injured reserve, head coach Liam Coen said Friday.
Hunter sustained a non-contact injury during Wednesday’s practice. “We’re currently assessing the injury just to determine the best course of action moving forward for Travis and for the team,” Coen said.
The Jaguars traded up from the No. 5 pick to No. 2 during the 2025 NFL Draft to acquire Hunter. The former Heisman Trophy winner played both wide receiver and cornerback in each of his first seven NFL games. Hunter was widely expected to become a focal point of the offense following Jacksonville’s Week 8 bye.
He’ll now miss the next four games at a minimum. Coen said the team is “still waiting on further information to be able to determine how long it could be.” Based on the dispirited inflection of his voice, it doesn’t seem that Hunter will be back on the field anytime soon.
The Jaguars are in a decent position to replace his snaps at cornerback. The defense still has a solid starting trio of Jourdan Lewis, Greg Newsome, and Montaric Brown, and second-year pro Jarrian Jones is a nice depth piece.
On offense, though, Hunter will be sorely missed. Brian Thomas Jr. is in the midst of a sophomore slump, and Dymai Brown and Parker Washington are better suited as role players than secondary receiving options. Tim Patrick is the only other wideout on the current roster.
The timing of Hunter’s injury is brutal, considering that rookies tend to see a jump in performance after their bye weeks. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Jacksonville still has time to find reinforcements before the NFL’s Nov. 4 trade deadline. Maybe the front office will try to bring in a new pass-catcher like Jakobi Meyers or Rashid Shaheed or David Njoku.
Jaguars fans… sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Halloween was more of a trick than a treat this year.
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