Travis

Etienne

He added two catches for 16 yards on three targets. All that volume sure looks better when you score, but Etienne played 48-of-69 Jaguars snaps, rarely giving LeQuint Allen (13 snaps) any room to operate as a backup. He wasn’t especially close to scoring, and took just two carries for three yards in the red zone. Etienne will remain on the RB1 line against the Titans in Week 18, a game the Jaguars will definitely want to win to secure the AFC South title.

Tuten was limited in practice throughout the week after recently undergoing surgery on his finger. The team downgraded him to out over the weekend. He has a shot at returning in Week 18 to get in some reps before the playoffs. Travis Etienne will see the bulk of the carries versus Indianapolis this week, putting him in the RB1 mix.

With Bhayshul Tuten (finger) done for the rest of the season, Etienne saw an uptick in usage against Denver. He accounted for 16 of the Jaguars backfield’s 20 running back carries and all four of the team’s running backs targets while running a pass route on 26 of Trevor Lawrence’s 46 drop backs. LeQuint Allen did see an inside-the-five rush, however, raising concerns about Etienne’s goal line role in Week 17. Etienne’s receiving touchdown was his fourth over the past two games. That can’t last, but his involvement in the pass game means Etienne won’t be sensitive to game script moving forward.

“He should be back for the playoffs,” writes NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Not that Tuten was threatening much playing time in the near term anyway for Travis Etienne, but this does set the Jaguars lead back with a Chase Brown-level of workload for the final three games of the regular season (and two games of fantasy playoffs for most leagues) against Denver, Indianapolis, and Tennessee. Tuten finishes the regular season with a 78/284/4 rushing line and added 10/79/2 through the air. He’s still the likely incumbent for this backfield in 2026 unless this season has convinced Jaguars decision makers that they actually need Etienne more than they believed six months ago.

You wouldn’t have expected the first three-score game of Etienne’s career to feature zero on the ground, but that’s what happened on Sunday in Jacksonville. This was somehow after Bhayshul Tuten notched the Jags backfield’s first receiving score, and after they already led 24-10 in the dying moments of the second quarter. Etienne then found the end zone from 20, eight and 45 yards out, with the 45-yarder a screen where Etienne found the sideline. The 20-yarder was a Trevor Lawrence dime at the goal line. Although he’s been providing better fantasy returns of late, Etienne has bettered 4.0 yards per carry just one time in seven games since the Jags’ bye week. The offense’s recent improvement will be put to the toughest of tests in a Week 16 road trip to Denver. Etienne will remain a usage-based RB2 for that one.

His second rushing touchdown was by far his best play of the day, as he deftly found the sideline from the opposite hash and rode a wide-open alley to the score. It wasn’t exactly a dominant day on the ground for Etienne, but he did hog the workload as Bhayshul Tuten managed just two carries in a wire-to-wire win for the Jaguars. He’ll be a high-end RB2 — maybe even a low-end RB1 — for Week 15’s slate as he takes on the Jets.

The Jaguars went up two scores by halftime and never looked back. Though Etienne still operated as the Jaguars’ lead back, this led to less opportunities in the passing game for him. Bhayshul Tuten got the red zone opportunities, so Etienne’s role was reduced to an inefficient 2.3 yards per carry. Without a score, this ends up as a bad fantasy day for him, though the manner of usage indicates he is still the top back in the backfield. Tuten will take some red zone usage while LeQuint Allen takes passing-down usage, but Etienne remains an explosive option as both a runner and pass-catcher. He is in the RB2 range for Week 14 against the Colts.

Etienne operated as the Jaguars’ clear-cut lead back despite being limited by a shoulder injury in practice all week. After TE Brenton Strange ripped off a 30-yard gain to get the Jaguars out of their own red zone on the team’s first drive, Etienne broke loose on an interior run to the right side, bringing the offense 45 yards downfield. The Jaguars then dialed up a screen pass for Etienne on the left side of the field. Etienne’s would-be coverage defender tripped over his own feet, eating turf, right after Etienne secured the catch and the Jaguars’ running back easily weaved through blocks set up by his teammates just in front of the goal line. He is a high-end RB2 against the Titans next week.

Etienne was limited in all three sessions this week, sometimes seen while wearing a non-contact jersey, but will play in Week 12. He’s best viewed as the head of a committee, but he still has a mid-range RB2 case after the Jaguars ran all over the Chargers last week.

We expect Etienne to be listed as a limited participant on the official injury report. The Jaguars regularly wrapped rookie RB Bhayshul Tuten in a non-contact jersey before allowing him to suit up on game day, while dealing with a shoulder injury earlier this year. He also handled far smaller workloads than the healthy Etienne did. Etienne’s continued participation puts him on track to play, though it is currently difficult to project touch counts between him, Tuten and fellow rookie RB LeQuint Allen. Hopefully, Etienne practices fully on Friday and can be trusted to at least handle double-digit touches.