The Jacksonville Jaguars offense took a big hit during the first half of Sunday’s matchup with the Houston Texans.
Star running back Travis Etienne Jr. left the game due to an injury suffered in the first quarter. Let’s get into everything we know about Etienne’s injury, including the severity and whether he returned to the game.
What Happened to Travis Etienne Jr.?
Etienne suffered a shoulder injury and was ruled questionable to return by the Jaguars. Etienne returned to the game, so the clearly wasn’t serious. However, he was then used in an extremely limited fashion for the remainder of the first half.
Etienne is one of the top players on Jacksonville’s offense, so his status will be worth monitoring. Tank Bigsby will stand to see more carries if Etienne is forced to miss any time moving forward.
RB Travis Etienne has a shoulder injury and his return is questionable.
— JaguarsPR (@JaguarsPR) September 29, 2024
Etienne split carries with Bigsby for the rest of the game. He finished with 11 carries for 50 yards, while Bigsby had seven carries for 90 yards.
PFN Fantasy Analysis: Potential Impact of Etienne Injury
From Pro Football Network’s Kyle Soppe
Tank Bigsby is the clear-cut beneficiary as he stands to assume Etienne’s role, one that saw him be responsible for 63.2% of Jacksonville’s RB carries through the first three weeks.
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The former third-round pick out of Auburn struggled as a rookie (2.6 yards per carry), but he showed nice burst in the season opener (12 carries for 73 yards) and opened up Week 4 with a nice 22-yard gain.
Bigsby won’t project as favorably as Etienne should the starter miss time, but with a favorable spot awaiting this team in Week 5 (vs. Indianapolis Colts), he’d certainly hold Flex value in all formats.