Jaguars running back Travis Etienne had the third-most offensive touches in the league during the 2023 season, but the team isn’t looking for a repeat of that in 2024.
Etienne posted 849 of his 1,484 yards from scrimmage and eight of his 12 touchdowns in the first eight games of the season, so one wouldn’t be coming out of left field to wonder about whether Etienne wore down as the season went along.
During an interview with Matthew Berry of NBC Sports, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was asked about Etienne’s usage. Pederson said it was due to multiple factors while saying that Etienne might benefit from his workload being pared down in 2024.
“I think it’s a little bit of everything,” Pederson said. “He was getting it done. D’Ernest Johnson got hurt a little bit in there, and then Tank [Bigsby] was a rookie and learning and coming on,. We really like Tank and he’ll have a bigger impact for us this year for us. It’s not the recipe, necessarily, to put Travis in that situation. So I would consider knocking a few of those reps down to keep him healthy throughout the course of the year.”
After winning the AFC South and a playoff game in 2022, the Jaguars took a step back last season. Getting more efficient production from Etienne throughout the season would help their bid to reverse course this year.
