The Jacksonville Jaguars could see running back Travis Etienne leave in free agency. If he leaves, it would surely sting as he's been a focal point of the offense the past four years. The good news is that the Jags have second-year running back Bhayshul Tuten in the fold. On top of that, they could try to look for a replacement or even upgrade their backfield in free agency.
Jacksonvillle will have no shortage of options if they shop for a running back to pair with Tuten. As a matter of fact, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports believes they could make push for the best one available.
The Jaguars could replace Travis Etienne with Kenneth Walker in free agency
Jonathan Jones recently shared what he's heard around the league ahead of free agency. He says that the Denver Broncos could be a landing spot for Kenneth Walker but points out that the Jags could also target the Super Bowl winner, pointing out that general manager James Gladstone isn't afraid to make bold moves to address the larger scale roster.
"Specifically to Walker, it has been noted above he's probably out of the Chiefs' price range," Jones wrote. "Denver could be the place for him as Bo Nix continues on his rookie deal. One other place I could see him in is Jacksonville. The Jaguars are parting ways and are happy with Bhayshul Tuten. But GM James Gladstone has shown in just a year that he will always be aggressive when it comes to roster building."
On a related note, Jones notes that Etienne could bolt for the Broncos — he would be a fit in Sean Payton's offense — if they miss out on Walker.
With the Seahawks opting not to use the franchise tag on Walker, he's trending toward testing free agency. He'll have no shortage of suitors if he's available, but signing him won't come cheap.
Year 3️⃣ loading for @Kenneth_Walker9 and his jukes 😮💨🔥 pic.twitter.com/UsUmHFo8p8
— NFL (@NFL) June 14, 2024
Following his impressive 2025, the Super Bowl MVP is projected to get a contract that pays him more than $10 million and possibly close to $15. That could leave clubs such as the Kansas City Chiefs out of the sweepstakes.
A second-round pick in 2022, Walker has been a mainstay of the Seattle offense the past four years, toting the rock 821 times for 3,555 yards with 29 touchdowns in 58 games with 54 starts.
Why the Jaguars will have trouble making a run for Kenneth Walker
While nobody would deny that Kenneth Walker would take the Jacksonville offense to the next level, Jonathan Jones is missing a crucial point. Just like Kansas City would have trouble signing him because of its cap situation, the Jaguars probably won't be able to meet his contract demands because they're $15.9 million over the cap.
Sure, James Gladstone isn't afraid to swing for the fence, but freeing up space to sign Walker would prevent the Jags from upgrading other positions. And that's the thing, as much as they would like to either re-sign Etienne or ink Walker, sophomore Bhayshul Tuten would be a viable replacement, having shown game-changing capabilities last year. Furthermore, cornerback, the pass rush, and defensive tackle are more pressing needs than running back.
Granted, Jacksonville has four picks on Day 2 of the draft, so Gladstone could easily take care of those needs then. Having said that, signing Walker would limit the team's ability to sign other players in free agency.
Heck, that's the reason the Jaguars will probably let Travis Etienne walk to begin with. Never say never, but that makes signing Kenneth Walker even more of a long shot.