Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter made NFL history in 2025 as the first consistent two-way player since 1962, and the Jaguars have a clear plan in mind for year two despite Hunter’s season-ending knee injury.
“We still expect him to play on both sides of the ball,” Jaguars general manager James Gladstone told reporters on Wednesday.
“The steps that he was taking by the midpoint of the season really made us feel good about what the back half of the year was going to be on both sides of the ball and what that impact was going to look like, being a feature point on offense and an impact player on defense.”
“[The injury] was just disappointing timing but nonetheless feel good about where we are heading into this offseason and what next year should hold,” Gladstone said.
Hunter’s rookie season got cut short, however, due to a non-contact knee injury during an Oct. 30 practice. He had surgery on Nov. 11 to fix his right knee’s torn lateral collateral ligament.
The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner at Colorado, Hunter joined the Jaguars as the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, and he made an impact in just seven games. Hunter caught 28 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown, and he tallied 15 tackles and three pass deflections. He played 162 snaps on defense and 324 snaps on offense.
“With Travis having gotten to a place midseason where you felt like he was starting to peak and really make a real dent, and the plan for post-bye was to continue to enhance that, [it was] tough not to be able to see that come to life down the backstretch,” Gladstone said.
Hunter had his best offensive game on Oct. 19 against the Los Angeles Rams when he tallied eight receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. While the Jaguars lost Hunter early, it didn’t thwart the Jaguars from going 13–5 and making the playoffs. His progress has teammates excited for what’s possible in 2026.
“He was ascending,” cornerback Jourdan Lewis told reporters on Monday. “When he got hurt, he was finding his groove on offense and defense.”
“It felt like he was making a big play every time we needed him,” Lewis added. “He knows what is expected of him now. Just working, honestly. Keep working and putting your head down.”
Hunter played 67 percent of the offensive snaps and 36 percent of the defensive snaps when healthy. That said, the Jaguars could play Hunter on offense less due to the Nov. 4 addition of wide receiver Jakobi Meyers from the Las Vegas Raiders at the trade deadline.
Meyers had 42 receptions for 483 yards and three touchdowns in his time with the Jaguars. Jacksonville also has options in Parker Washington and Brian Thomas Jr.
Defensively, the Jaguars could use Hunter more. Jacksonville could lose cornerbacks Greg Newsome II and Montaric Brown in free agency.
“We still expect him to play on both sides of the ball,” Gladstone said of Hunter. “At this point, walking into the offseason, corner is a position that we have a few guys who are on expiring contracts.”
“So, by default, you can expect there to be a higher emphasis on his placement,” Gladstone said.
Jaguars head coach Liam Coen anticipates that flexibility with Hunter but emphasized that Hunter still has work ahead in recovery from injury. Hunter, who has been rehabbing since the surgery, is expected to return to football activities by May or June, and the Jaguars anticipate having him for the whole 2026 season.
“For him right now it’s about getting his rehab right and diving in mentally because of some of the limitations we’ll have throughout the offseason program,” Coen told reporters on Wednesday. “But I’m really excited about getting back to work with Travis and continue that evolution and see what that looks like.”
