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The Jacksonville Jaguars made the tough decision to trade away running back James Robinson who had rushed for more than 1,800 yards over the past two years. It may have been a risky move for the Jaguars as the players that now make up their backfield only have 128 career carries between the three of them.
The new Jaguars starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. said that the trade came as a surprise to him and that he and Robinson were close friends. Etienne mentioned that the news stunned him, but he is glad that they are both getting the opportunities that they deserve even if it may be on separate teams now. After sitting out the entirety of last season due to a Lisfranc injury, Etienne recognizes that it is now on him to lead the Jaguars backfield.
The young running back has already started three games this year and managed to average 8.3 yards a carry across both of them. Etienne has tallied up 728 all-purpose yards through eight games so far and has scored rushing touchdowns in back to back games, proving that he may be worthy of the bell-cow running back role for the Jaguars.
''I was stunned just like everyone else,'' Etienne said. ''It was just kind of like, `Dang.' It just lets you know that it's a business. But I'm happy for both of us. As a competitor, this is what I wanted. And as a competitor, that's what he wanted.
''Now he can go in there and be the man. He gets the carries that he wants, that he needs. ... I feel like it's the same for me. We both are going to have a chance to showcase our skills and be hell of a players.''
As one of the main building blocks for the Jaguars franchise, Etienne is scheduled to make his fourth consecutive start against the Raiders on 11/6/2022. Travis Etienne Jr. will look to continue his strong play as the Jaguars RB1.
