The Jacksonville Jaguars recently got defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Maason Smith back at practice, but they're still missing a handful of players who are dealing with injuries. One of them is two-way star Travis Hunter. The good news is that, based on head coach Liam Coen's comments, most of them appear to be on the right track.
Coen met with the local media ahead of the team's scrimmage against the Dolphins and provided updates for players who've recently missed time.
"Those guys, Tyson [Campbell], Travis [Hunter], day to day. And Dyami [Brown] was just kind of little lower body stiffness, little tight," Coen responded (0:20 mark), "So we just didn't really feel liek it was necessary to push, especially to have them for this week at Miami."
Tyson Campbell, Travis Hunter, and Dyami Brown missed the preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It remains to be seen whether they'll partake in the scrimmage against the Miami Dolphins, but there's a chance they could sit out the finale to avoid further injury risk.
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The Jaguars also provided updates about Caleb Ransaw and Wyatt Milum
Aside from Tyson Campbell, Travis Hunter, and Dyami Brown, the Jaguars have been without cornerback Montaric Brown, offensive lineman Wyatt Milum, and rookie defensive back Caleb Ransaw.
LIam Coen says that Milum is week to week, but doesn't sound overly concern about his absence.
"It's just, 'hey, next guy up,' really. The nice thing is we kind of boosted that group in the pro free agency and throughout, obviously, the draft. It's a bummer because he's been playing really well, and he's just continued to ascend, so it's just a great opportunity for the next guys to be able to come in and give us meaningful reps throughout this joint and in the game, because they're gonna have to play a lot," Coen said.
Later in the media avaiability session, Coen also said that Ransew is week to week.
Both Milum and Ransaw were third-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. They are expected to earn primary roles down the road, but neither was projected to start the regular season, so the Jags can afford to bring them along slowly. Then again, that may not be the case for Travis Hunter.
The Jaguars would love to see Travis Hunter play vs. the Dolphins
Travis Hunter's transition to the pros, while learning the nuances of two positions, has gone well. However, he missed valuable reps when he sat out the New Orleans Saints game. The team's brass would surely like to see the reigning Heisman Trophy winner participate in the scrimmage and the finale against the Miami Dolphins. But the coaching staff must assess the risk-reward of thrusting him into action.
The last thing you want is to have Hunter suit up only to see him get hurt, so it will be interesting to see how much of a workload (if any) the rookie two-way star gets before the regular season.