Travis Hunter’s rookie season didn’t end under stadium lights or during some dramatic sideline collision. It ended during an Oct. 30 practice when Hunter planted his right foot to make a routine cut, the kind he’d made thousands of times before. But this time, his knee buckled, getting Hunter through sharp pain and an unsettling stillness.
By the next morning, the Jaguars placed him on injured reserve, though they kept the severity quiet. Only after Tuesday’s surgery did the truth land, revealing that he’d torn his lateral collateral ligament, costing him the rest of his 2025 season. Now, the No. 2 pick begins the long six-month journey back.
More Pressure on Jags Offense Without Travis Hunter
Travis Hunter’s injury reflects the pulse of a team suddenly missing the spark that had started to shape their identity. Jacksonville didn’t draft him No. 2 overall simply for highlights. They drafted him because he could change games in ways other players can’t.
And just as the Jaguars were beginning to lean into that versatility, it slipped out of their hands.
Before the injury, Hunter had become more than a promising rookie. He was evolving into a stabilizer for a Jags offense that had been streaky and searching for rhythm all season.
Over his first seven games, he logged 305 snaps on offense, nearly twice as many as he played on defense, because the team recognized how naturally he created mismatches.
Travis Hunter’s ability to stretch the field, win in space, and force defenses to shift coverage had begun to unlock parts of Liam Coen’s scheme that previously felt stuck in neutral.
Jacksonville’s best glimpse of what Hunter could become came in Week 7, when he delivered eight catches on 14 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown, all season highs. That wasn’t just a breakout, but a blueprint.
The plan was to feature him even more heavily in the second half of the season, giving quarterback Trevor Lawrence a dynamic weapon who could tilt momentum with a single play. Now that plan is old paper in the rain.
The ripple effects hit everywhere. Without Hunter, the Jaguars badly need second-year receiver Brian Thomas Jr. to snap out of his early-season slump.
The offense can’t remain this inconsistent, especially with Jacksonville sitting at 5-4 and clinging to relevance in an unforgiving AFC playoff race.
Hunter’s presence didn’t just give them production, 28 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown, it gave them spacing. Defenses respected him in ways they aren’t yet compelled to respect Thomas or the rest of the receiving corps.
And then there’s the defense. Even in a more limited role, Hunter added value as a hybrid playmaker, 11 tackles, three pass breakups, and a fumble recovery, helping patch soft spots in the secondary. Losing that flexibility strips Jacksonville of the chess-piece advantage they’d grown comfortable relying on.
Coen called Travis Hunter’s injury’s timing “not ideal,” which is as gentle as a coach can put it. Hunter was ascending, the Jaguars were adjusting around him, and now they must recalibrate on the fly. They’ll press forward, as they must, but there’s no masking this truth: when a player elevates both sides of the ball, his absence lowers more than one ceiling.
Jacksonville believes he’ll make a “major comeback.” But until then, the Jags must figure out how to win without the very player who was helping them learn how to win more often.
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