Jaguars urged to move young playmaker at NFL trade deadline to jumpstart rebuild
The Jacksonville Jaguars are heading nowhere this season, and that makes them one of the NFL’s most intriguing teams leading up to the Nov. 5 trade deadline.
Doug Pederson’s job could be on the line entering a Week 9 road game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Jaguars (2-6) have already moved veterans Cam Robinson and Roy Robertson-Harris, and more moves could be coming if they drop to 3-12 since the start of December 2023.
Mike Jones of The Athletic recently discussed seven players garnering trade buzz, and Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. made his list.
Is Etienne a candidate to be moved at this year’s trade deadline? Jones thinks it could happen.
“Despite back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to kick off his career, Etienne has seen his workload diminish this season, thanks in part to a few nagging injuries and the simultaneous ascension of Tank Bigsby,” Jones wrote. “At 2-6, the Jaguars can kiss any playoff aspirations goodbye, and they would do well to send Etienne to a team in need of improved running back depth now to get a head start on the roster implosion that is sure to come this offseason.”
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Bigsby’s emergence has made Etienne a trendy pick to be moved this season. Dallas Robinson of Pro Football Network recently proposed a potential blockbuster that would send the former first-round pick to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2025 fifth-rounder.
Etienne is a good football player. He’s coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and his experience with quarterback Trevor Lawrence going back to their days at Clemson should be considered.
But as Bigsby’s emergence this season shows, serviceable running backs are readily available in the middle rounds of the NFL draft.
If the Jaguars can get draft picks in return, while unloading Etienne’s fifth-year option (he’s due a guaranteed $6.1 million in 2025), it could be worth their while to take calls on their star running back prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline.
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