Travis Hunter’s season-ending knee injury won’t keep him from playing both sides of the ball again in 2026.
Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said Wednesday that the plan is to continue playing the former Heisman Trophy winner at wide receiver and cornerback moving forward.
“We still expect him to play on both sides of the ball,” Gladstone said. “… The steps that 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 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.
“It (the injury) was just disappointing timing but nonetheless feel good about where we are heading into this offseason and what next year should hold.”
Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Colorado, underwent surgery to repair the LCL in his right knee on Nov. 11. He sustained the non-contact injury during practice on Oct. 30.
Hunter, 22, caught 28 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown in seven games (four starts), adding 15 tackles and three passes defensed while playing 324 snaps on offense and 162 on defense.
In his final game, he caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in a Week 7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
“With Travis having gotten to a place midseason where you felt like he was starting to peak and really make a real dent, and the plan for post-bye was to continue to enhance that, (it was) tough not to be able to see that come to life down the backstretch,” Gladstone said.
Hunter is expected to return to full football activities in time for OTAs in May.
“For him right now it’s about getting his rehab right and diving in mentally because of some of the limitations we’ll have throughout the offseason program,” head coach Liam Coen said. “But I’m really excited about getting back to work with Travis and continue that evolution and see what that looks like.”
