Dating back to the end of the 2025 season, there have been plenty of conflicting reports about how the Jacksonville Jaguars plan to use Travis Hunter. However, general manager James Gladstone has been clear from the very beginning that the former Heisman Trophy winner will continue to play offense on defense; it's just that the Jags will need him at corner more next season because of roster construction.
And if there were any doubts that Jacksonville wants Hunter to keep playing two ways, Gladstone said that's not the case.
James Gladstone says Travis Hunter will be 100% for the Jaguars by training camp
James Gladstone made an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show and said that Travis Hunter is coming along well in his recovery from the season-ending injury he suffered in 2025, noting that he'll be back at 100 percent by training camp.
"He's in a good spot, he's out on the grass on a limited fashion here, and that'll be the case throughout the remainder of the offseason program," Gladstone told host Rich Eisen when asked about Hunter's rehab (4:46 mark). "As we get into training camp, he'll be a full go. Really looking forward to building off of the momentum that was that game for him individually versus Los Angeles in London, obviously, being able to breach the 100-yard mark from a receiving standpoint, get in the end zone."
Gladstone continued, "At the same time, he turns over to the side of the defensive side ball and gets a PBU on a really critical down versus Davante Adams, being able to build off of really where we were at that point in time, and use that momentum to carry into this next season is an exciting piece for us."
As Gladstone noted, Hunter broke out against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, hauling in eight receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown. However, he suffered a knee injury in practice ahead of the Las Vegas Raiders game and underwent surgery not long after, effectively bringing his rookie season to an end.
Later in the conversation, Eisen asks Gladstone if Hunter is done playing two ways. Gladstone's answer? Absolutely not, pointing out that the only reason that his usage at corner will go up is that it was low last year. Here's the exchange.
"He is set to play both sides of the ball. The piece that I think we can expect to see is actually an uptick in corner usage, right? Last year, it was a higher volume, a higher percentage of wide receiver usage than it was corner. I think we can expect that corner percentage and count go up. That's not to say anything impacts his availability and usage on offense. It just means that that cornerback usage will increase."
Gladstone then points out that the Jaguars have different roster personnel at corner, which is why Hunter will see more snaps on defense.
"It's not to say that it won't increase on offense, either, but it was lower on the defensive side this past season. We also have a different defensive cornerback room, and the bodies are different than they were a year ago. Our roster construction is different than it was a year ago, so it's more fitting to slot him at corner in a different way than it was last year or even as the season progressed," Gladstone said.
The Jags let Greg Newsome walk in free agency. Hunter will take his place opposite Montaric Brown in the boundaries. If he's truly locked in and back at full strength, No. 12 should hold onto that spot the remainder of the year.
The Jaguars aren't giving up on Travis Hunter playing two ways
If there were any doubts that the Jaguars will continue to use Travis Hunter two ways, James Gladstone made it abundantly clear they won't steer away from the plan. Sure, he probably won't play 100 percent of the snaps on offense and defense but should still get ample playing time on both sides.
Of course, the Jags are stacked at receiver. They don't need Hunter to be the No. 1 with Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers, Parker Washington, CJ Williams, and Josh Cameron. That said, they will still find a way to get him involved in the game plan and use his game-changing skills.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars have a two-way player in Travis Hunter, and they play to use him as such.
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