“Life as a Jaguars fan is no life to live”: Travis Etienne Injury Has Jacksonville Fans In Dismay Over The Outlook Of The 2021-22 NFL Season

Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne suffered a mid-foot Lisfranc sprain, that ended his rookie season before it even started.

In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars had two first-round picks, at positions 1 and 25. At the first spot, they drafted QB Trevor Lawrence from Clemson. Lawrence entered the draft as one of the best QB prospects ever, and everyone has high hopes for him going into the season.

At number 25, they drafted Lawrence’s Clemson teammate, RB Travis Etienne. This selection had its fair share of supporters and critics.

Read also: Trevor Lawrence Admits He Feels the Nerves Before the First Game of Every Season.

Etienne faced skepticism from the fans

Fans perceived the selection of Etienne as just an attempt to pair him up with his Clemson teammate, and that the pick was absolutely unnecessary. Especially since the Jaguars already had a good RB in James Robinson.

Robinson went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft and was picked up by the Jaguars as a free agent. In the 2020 season, Robinson had 1070 rushing yards, becoming only the fourth undrafted player in NFL history to rush for more than a 1000 yards in his rookie season. He joined the likes of Dominic Rhodes, LeGarrette Blount, and Phillip Lindsay. He also currently has the most scrimmage yards by any rookie free agent in NFL history.

James Robinson’s success in Jacksonville made fans believe that the selection of Etienne was a reach and that the front office dropped the ball on that one.

What Happened To Travis Etienne? Jaguars RB Set To Miss Entire Season

On August 24^th, it was reported that Etienne was seen postgame in a walking boot suffered due to an injury in his left foot. After further testing, it was revealed that he had a serious Lisfranc injury that would sideline him for several weeks and potentially end his rookie season.

HC Urban Meyer called the injury a “shot in the jaw” and says the staff was still having conversations on how they can fill his role. QB Trevor Lawrence, who has thence been named the week 1 starter for the Jaguars,  believes that Etienne is “handling it well.” He said that it’s tough to see his long-time teammate injured like that, but that he had to support him and help him stay locked in.

NFL Fans around the league are sad but also selfish

The news of the injury was met with a lot of grief, from Jaguars fans and fans of the sport. Jaguars fans have definitely been through a lot lately. Ever since they made the AFC Championship game in 2017, they have finished at the bottom of the AFC South for three years straight. They have had a combined record of 12-36 in that time span.

However, there is a whole another set of fans, who are somewhat elated on hearing the news. They believe that now that Etienne’s gone, Robinson going to have a stellar season and help their fantasy football teams immensely. Definitely a bit selfish but hey, whatever helps your team.

James Robinson is a great player, but Etienne had a certain scare factor to him that is definitely going to impact the upcoming season, negatively, for the Jaguars. I’m sure the two would have wreaked havoc in the Jacksonville backfield, but I guess we’re going to have to wait a bit longer to witness that.