Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen lines up against wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) during an NFL training camp session at the Miller Electric Center, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Liam Coen Gives Encouraging Health Update on Travis Hunter Jr.

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By Andy Quach | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars are hoping to get a lot out of Travis Hunter Jr., more than any team has ever expected out of one of its draft picks in NFL history. The team took him with the second-overall pick in the 2025 draft with full intentions for him to play on both sides of the ball for Head Coach Liam Coen, Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski, and Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile.

The goal is for Hunter Jr. to play 80 percent of all the Jaguars' snaps on both offense and defense. It's certainly a lofty goal, one that will have him setting league records, but it's one that he proved capable of accomplishing in his time with the Colorado Buffaloes. It's also one that helps justify the hefty price the team paid to the Cleveland Browns to trade up for him in the draft.

Between the new territory that Hunter Jr. is hoping to claim in his NFL career as the league's first true full-time two-way player and the unprecedented preparation it'll take for him to seamlessly transition from offense to defense and back in a game, the rookie could have used as many preseason reps as he could manage ahead of Week 1. Unfortunately, it appears that Travis Hunter Jr. won't be seen again until the regular season begins.

Liam Coen says Travis Hunter Jr. is progressing well

Travis Hunter Jr. was held out of the Jacksonville Jaguars' second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to an upper-body injury. Head Coach Liam Coen had called it a precautionary measure, and the rookie was able to return to training camp following the exhibition.

However, he didn't participate in the team's first joint practice with the Miami Dolphins. He also won't be suiting up for the Jaguars' third preseason game, although none of the starters will be playing, according to Coen.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem like his injury is anything serious. Speaking to Jacksonville media, Coach Coen had this to say on why Travis Hunter Jr. didn't work out in the joint practice:

“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. 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."

All signs point to Travis Hunter Jr. playing in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers. It'll be interesting to see just how many snaps he'll rack up on both sides of the ball in his first taste of real NFL action.

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This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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