Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen announced on October 31 that Travis Hunter will be placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury sustained in practice earlier in the week. The rookie wide receiver will be forced to miss at least the next four games. The soonest Hunter can return is Week 13 against the Tennessee Titans.
“The full extent of Hunter’s knee injury isn’t yet known publicly,” according to RotoWire staff, “but it’s obviously a huge loss for Jacksonville after the team had plans to get the rookie more involved on offense following the Week 8 bye. With Hunter sidelined, Brian Thomas (shoulder), Dyami Brown, Parker Washington and Tim Patrick (groin) will handle wideout duties for the Jaguars.”
Injury Details
Hunter suffered a non-contact knee injury during Thursday’s practice, according to Demetrius Harvey of The Florida Times-Union. Following the injury, Hunter was initially listed as a limited participant in practice, but Jacksonville quickly made the decision to place the No. 2 overall pick on the IR.
“The immediate decision to place him on IR is foreboding given the information currently available,” Nate Davis writes for USA Today.
ESPN reports the Jaguars are “still assessing” whether Hunter will return at all this season.
“That I don’t know,” Liam Coen said, adding that it’s “a minor setback for a major comeback.”
“We’re currently assessing the injury just to determine the best course of action moving forward for Travis and for the team,” Coen said. “Feel bad for the guy, for the kid, for our team, for everything. He’s in good spirits right now.”
Hunter’s Rookie-Season Breakout
The Heisman Trophy winner played the best game of his young NFL career in Week 7, the last time the Jaguars took the field. Despite a 35-7 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Hunter logged a career-high eight receptions on 14 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Hunter was expected to take on a larger role in Jacksonville’s offense following the Week 8 bye and due to Brian Thomas Jr.’s ongoing shoulder injury.
“Yeah, I think that is absolutely going to be a part of the conversation this evening with both sides of the football. I thought that there were some definite flashes yesterday in terms of on offense specifically, had a great pass breakup as well on defense,” Coen told reporters during Jacksonville’s bye week.
“And we are going to play the best 11 as much as humanly possible after this bye. We’ve kind of gotten a sample size, as you mentioned, a sample size of everything, the totality of the first seven weeks of every position, but specifically with him.”
It’s been a fairly slow start to Hunter’s career, at least for a wide receiver taken with the second pick, but that’s understandable given the added challenge of learning both the defensive and offensive playbooks. Nonetheless, Hunter has caught a team-leading 28 passes for 298 yards through seen games.
What’s Next for Hunter, Jaguars
Jacksonville goes on the road to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at 4 p.m. EST. The Jags look to snap a two-game losing streak, especially against a 2-5 Raiders squad that’s scoring the second-fewest points in the NFL.
Thomas Jr. is expected to play on Sunday, despite being a limited practice participant this week. Third-year receiver Parker Washington is expected to fill many of Hunter’s snaps, particularly in the slot.
“I have a lot of confidence in these guys that it’s a great opportunity for all of us to work through a little adversity and the guys to perform at a high level,” Coen said.
For Hunter, the injury comes at the most promising peak thus far in his NFL career. Jaguars fans, and football fans in general, will hope to see him on the field again this season. Hunter has not yet spoken about the injury. Coen and the Jacksonville front office will assess Hunter over the following weeks and decide if the injury will result in just a four-game absence or if it’s season-ending.
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