Jaguars' James Gladstone Provides Critical Travis Hunter Update

Hunter has dealt with an upper body injury since before the second game of the preseason, and as a result missed the final two games of the preseason.

Does that mean that Hunter's status for Week 1 is in doubt? Not according to general manager James Gladstone, who gave a positive update on Hunter's availability.

"That's not the case. He's on the grass today and going full speed," Gladstone said at the Miller Electric Center on Wednesday.

Hunter did not practice during last week's joint practice with the Miami Dolphins, but head coach Liam Coen stressed then that it was mostly for precautionary reasons.

“It was just more like do we want him now or potentially not against Carolina? More just being smart about the next few weeks because the ultimate goal is Carolina," Coen said last week.

"That’s the thing that’s at top of mind right now and for him. Could he have probably gone, I think so. If this was Carolina, would he have probably played? Yeah. So, we’re moving in the right direction.”

Hunter is set to play a big role for the Jaguars on both sides of the ball in 2025, though his largest impact could come at wide receiver. With the time missed, his connection with Trevor Lawrence in Week 1 will be key.

“I think, we've gotten a lot of extra work just throughout the offseason, after practice, whatever because he's been doing both so there’s days where he missed some reps. We've been trying to keep up with that, already, but even more so now that he's missed some time. So, hopefully, we'll get him back out there running around really soon and can kind of make up some ground that we might have missed," Lawrence said last week.

"The offense is in, so I wouldn't say he necessarily missed a lot installation wise. We've already put everything in. It's just more so getting him back used to hearing everything because, when you're out for a little bit, sometimes the brain gets a little foggy. So just making sure he's sharp and ready to go and then there are a couple routes that we haven't got to throw a ton of this spring just because of the limited time. So, just working those on air, really. Just timing stuff and then when it comes to man coverage and him going and winning and making a play, I'm not as worried about that. I’ve just got to give him a good throw.”

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