Jaguars’ Travis Etienne Jr. has questionable reason for missing OTA session

Ryan OLeary

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Jaguars’ Travis Etienne Jr. has questionable reason for missing OTA session image

The Jacksonville Jaguars resumed organized team activities on Tuesday with one very notable absence. 

Per local sports anchor James St. Cyr of News4JAX, starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. was not present for the session, which featured some 11-on-11 work with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Etienne has been rumored in trade speculation dating back to last season, and his surprising absence on Tuesday will surely bring that discussion back to the forefront.

There’s also this: Head coach Liam Coen described Etienne’s absence as a flight issue. While that’s a perfectly reasonable excuse for the average Joe, especially the day after a holiday weekend, that’s a questionable excuse at best for an established NFL veteran.

It’s worth noting, of course, that OTAs are voluntary, so veterans aren’t required to attend. It’s rare for players to skip sessions with a new head coach, however, and Etienne could have a training camp battle on his hands with the returning Tank Bigsby and rookies Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen all in the mix.

Does Etienne’s absence signal a trade is forthcoming? This is a tailor-made story for hot take artists, but the reality is that the Jags have had multiple chances to move Etienne, both at the 2024 trade deadline and during the 2025 NFL Draft, and nothing has materialized. He’s coming off a down year plagued by hamstring issues, and his fully-guaranteed salary of $6.1 million for this season makes him an extremely difficult player to move at this stage of the league year.

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It’s possible that Etienne ends up swapping jerseys in 2025, but Tuesday’s excused absence shouldn’t rank among the top reasons. With that said, what could be Etienne’s final offseason in Jacksonville isn’t exactly off to a roaring start, as air travel woes are a lame excuse for professional athletes who only have a few important dates to plan for prior to training camp.

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Ryan OLeary

Ryan O'Leary has spent his entire professional career in sports multimedia, working as journalist, editor, podcaster, and in live events as a content manager and show emcee. His career highlights include working as a podcast host and audio editor for USA TODAY Sports Media Group, where he led a series of NFL podcasts for the company’s top-performing NFL sites. A born and raised New Englander, Ryan’s career kicked-off in newspapers after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in journalism. He developed an affinity for small-town youth, high school and college sports, while also realizing his childhood dream of covering the Patriots in multiple AFC Championship Games. Ryan enjoys kicking it with family and friends, beating his dad and brother in chess, and arguing with anyone crazy enough to insist that Tom Brady isn’t the GOAT.