Why Travis Hunter Will Define Jaguars' Offseason

In late October, the Jaguars' sensational rookie suffered a non-contact injury to his knee, tearing his LCL and missing the remainder of the regular season. While the team didn't skip a beat, it was a missed opportunity to see what type of impact he would've provided if he had begun to have a full-time role at both cornerback and wide receiver.

On Wednesday, Gladstone shared that Hunter's rehab is going 'as expected' and is attacking it while bringing the energy to the organization behind the scenes. He said he still expects Hunter to play both sides of the ball next season.

"Yeah, I think very fair to say his rehab process is going as expected," Gladstone said. "He's hitting it hard, and obviously, the joy that he brings to just the everyday operation is still something that permeates throughout the space that he enters, and beyond that, and the role that he'll play, we still expect him to play on both sides of the ball."

However, he shared an interesting detail. As the team is expected to take a potential hit at cornerback this offseason, it doesn't rid them of Hunter's ability at the position, where he showed outstanding playmaking skills during the regular season. Gladstone hinted at the possibility of a larger emphasis on cornerback for his young phenom pass-catcher-slash-defender, sharing Coen's perspective as well.

"Obviously, you can take a peek at expiring contracts on our roster and which side of the ball has more," Gladstone explained. "Obviously, at this point, walking into the offseason, corner is a position that we have a few guys who are on expiring contracts. By default, you can expect there to be a higher emphasis on his placement.

"I think from Liam's perspective, he can share it, but the steps he was taking by the midpoint of the season really made us feel good about what the back half of the year was going to be like on both sides of the ball and what that impact was going to look like being a feature point on offense and an impact player on defense," Gladstone continued. "It was disappointing timing but nonetheless feel good about where we are heading into this offseason and what next year should hold."

Coen said he was excited to get back to work with Hunter, continuing his evolution as a player while also looking into possible adjustments to his schedule due to the challenges of being a two-way player in the NFL.

"I'm really excited about getting back to work with Travis and continue that evolution and see what that looks like and I'm going to take a few of these weeks here to look at that schedule and see what any of those changes or adaptations we may need to make," Coen said.

It will be another long offseason for the Jaguars, especially when it comes to the discourse surrounding their soon-to-be second-year starter. It is a discussion that will be brought up during free agency, the NFL Draft, and much of the summer activities, all the way into next season.

For now, a major offseason for the 13-win Jaguars is underway for Gladstone and Coen.

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