Jaguars flipped the script with shocking RB trade, making one thing very clear

Jaguars trade Tank Bigsby after limited Week 1 touches, proving Travis Etienne Jr. is here to stay

Travis Etienne Jr. was one of the hottest names in trade conversations spanning the entire length of the offseason. He’d fallen out of favor under the previous coaching staff, and had found himself benched and losing out on touches to fellow back Tank Bigsby.

Many speculated that if that trend continued under Coen, Etienne could prove surplus to requirements. He’s in the final year of his contract, and the Jaguars may have decided to cash in on him while they could, rather than losing him early next year as a free agent.

Despite Coen shutting down any suggestion of a trade, fans were still reading into every snap of training camp.

Those rumors surged even in the preseason, when Etienne’s touches with the starters were deemed a tactic to showcase him to other teams that may be interested.

On Monday, the door slammed shut on that speculation, following a very surprising move.

The Jaguars did trade a running back, but it wasn’t Etienne. Tank Bigsby was dealt to Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles, in exchange for a fifth and a sixth round pick.

Considering many had pinned Bigsby as the Jaguars’ primary running back, his touches in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers were surprising.

He was handed just five carries for a total of 12 yards, averaging 2.4 yards per carry.

Etienne, on the other hand, recorded 143 rushing yards on 16 touches, with an impressive 8.9 yards per carry.

Perhaps the Jaguars star was hampered by injury last season, and will now remind fans why he’s their starter.

Howie Roseman wasted no time in enquiring about the potentially out-of-favor Bigsby, who will now team up with Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles’ dominant run game.

The Jaguars will move forward with Etienne as the lead back, but will also give more touches to rookies Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen.

Etienne is now playing for an extension in Jacksonville, rather than riding the bench into free agency

This is a big year for Travis Etienne. He’s out of contract at the end of the season, and if he wasn’t playing regularly it likely would have cost him millions of dollars in the open market.

By starting for the Jaguars, and getting the lion’s share of carries, Etienne can now earn his way into a very rewarding payday if he continues to play the way he did in Week 1.

One would assume that if he has a big year, he gets the extension in Jacksonville, but the running back could also test the waters of the open market.

Liam Coen’s system looks like it’s going to be great for the Jaguars RB, just as it was for Bucky Irving last season in Tampa Bay.