Jacksonville Jaguars' first-round pick listed as potential cap casualty
After moving on from general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson, there's a new regime leading the Jacksonville Jaguars into the 2025 season. Now, with James Gladstone assembling the roster and Liam Coen calling the shots as head coach, the Jaguars hope for better results than their 4-13 record in 2024.
Many new players have arrived in Duval and by the time the roster is trimmed down from 90 to 53 players, the Jaguars' roster will look much different in 2025. They may even have a new starting running back.
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Recently, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox named the 'best player who could still be cut' from each roster, and when it came to the Jaguars, he named starting running back Travis Etienne. Though, he cautions that if it does come down to cutting Etienne, Jacksonville would likely try trading the former first-round pick first.
'The Jacksonville Jaguars would save no money by releasing running back Travis Etienne Jr., who is set to play on the fully-guaranteed fifth-year option. However, new head coach Liam Coen may simply not want Etienne in his offense. 'I've talked to multiple people in the league who believe the new regime is not so high on Travis Etienne Jr.,' ESPN's Jeremy Fowler wrote on May 7. The Jags drafted both Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr., so there's a very real chance they look to move on from Etienne—though, they'd almost certainly try trading him first.'
Bleacher Report on Travis Etienne
If the Jaguars do ultimately realize they prefer a backfield that's led by Tank Bigsby, 2025 fourth-round pick Bhayshul Tuten, and 2024 fifth-round pick Keilan Robinson, then Etienne should hold some level of trade value. Yet, it likely won't be a big trade return.
One potential hurdle that could complicate trade negotiations is the fact that Etienne is set to earn $6.1 million in 2025, the final year of his rookie contract. That could be too rich for other teams to consider. Yet, taking a chance on the former first-round pick could be too enticing to pass up on.
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