Another Jaguars loss in the books may signal a Chargers, Ravens trade involving running back, Travis Etienne. The Clemson product left the third quarter with a hamstring injury, which isn’t helping his campaign to become a starter in Jacksonville anymore. Unfortunately, Etienne has been making it look easy for Tank Bigsby to receive a heavy workload over him which will likely end his time with the team. The Jaguars are 1-5, coming off another brutal beatdown against Chicago in London so the team may be thinking about 2025 instead of postseason contention.
However, Etienne was once a game-changer before for Trevor Lawrence’s offense but Bigsby has been taking this opportunity to thrive in the backfield. The Jaguars will probably be open to trading Etienne since he is expendable and injuries have hindered his production. However, Etienne has been lagging this season behind Bigsby when healthy while averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Bigsby’s impressive production will likely lead to the Jaguars coaching staff making a decision this offseason if they don’t sell him this 2024 campaign.
Jacksonville could be foolish to not use this chance to trade one of the players to another roster for draft capital in 2025. The Jaguars aren’t playing up to standard despite giving Lawrence a monster extension. Etienne landing with either the Chargers or Ravens could bring out the best in him.
Disastrous Jaguars Loss May Signal Chargers, Ravens Trade Involving Travis Etienne
More Help for Justin Herbert
The Chargers will move forward this season without Gus Edwards since they’re placing him on IR. They were hoping to have a healthy J.K. Dobbins and Edwards this year but they both have excellent history of injuries. However, Jim Harbaugh still believes in a strong running game for Justin Herbert. The team already has a problem in the passing game, so the run game struggling spells bad news all around for the new regime in Los Angeles.
No one should have anticipated Dobbins or Edwards to last a full season. This is why it might be safe to roll the dice on Etienne to give another Herbert another weapon in the backfield. He doesn’t need to be a modern-day Derrick Henry but one to play a couple of plays to pull momentum on their side. Etienne is one to carry those balls in short dump-offs rather than just running the football as Dobbins does.
He might not be fast but the Chargers could utilize him in the pocket in case Herbert struggles looking for a receiver down the field. Los Angeles has one of the worst receivers in the league so his presence could be a fine consolidation prize to boost their chances for a playoff.
Extra Depth for Playoffs
The Ravens probably made one of the best investments of signing Derrick Henry this offseason. So far, the veteran has 95 receptions for 572 yards and six touchdowns. However, John Harbaugh did mention that they didn’t sign him to give him the ball repetitively. The Ravens understand they want to keep Henry healthy for the playoffs so they may trade for someone like Etienne who could be some fine insurance policy.
Keaton Mitchell was supposed to be the backup but injuries stopped him again. However, Etienne isn’t beating out Henry for the starting job but is a reliable backup who could thrive sharing the snaps to keep the starting lineup fresh.
Other Potential Trade Destinations
Dallas Cowboys
Rico Dowdle has been the superior running back as opposed to veteran Ezekiel Elliott. There hasn’t been a development since Jerry Jones spoke on Dallas Morning News that they’re saving Elliott for the long haul. However, he’s on a one-year deal so it might not make sense of what’s he saying if he isn’t doing much of anything now. Etienne would easily become the immediate backup for Dallas and probably give some much-needed competition to turn things around in the backfield.
Kansas City Chiefs
Kareem Hunt thrived against the Saints in their win to improve to 5-0. However, they could effectively look for another backfield weapon to use to give rookie Carson Steele some competition. Andy Reid wants to utilize everyone until Isiah Pacheco so they could bring in Etienne for that reason. Etienne could probably be a useful developmental player behind Pacheco for the immediate future and move on from Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
