Travis Etienne's rookie season ended before it could even get off the ground in 2021. The 25th-overall pick in last year's draft suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury in his left foot during the preseason that required surgery and forced him to miss the entirety of his rookie campaign. Since then, the former Clemson running back has been working his way through rehab and recently was able to get back in the gym, crossing a critical hurdle in his recovery.
"My foot is doing much better," Etienne told The Players Club Podcast, as transcribed by Jaguars Wire. "Really just got back into the gym for the first time and I'm squatting for the first time this past week. So that's been good and I've been running for a while now. I'm kind of getting to that 80% to 85% range. Definitely, just heading in the right direction, and as you know with this injury you have to take it day-by-day man. You can't skip no days."
A previous report noted that Etienne expects to be ready for training camp, so this latest update from the running back seems to match up with that timetable.
When drafted, Etienne was looked at as a versatile piece in the Jags offense to complement former Clemson teammate and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Then-head coach Urban Meyer even suggested that the 23-year-old would line up out wide along with his traditional duties out of the backfield. Of course, Etienne never ended up playing for Meyer since he was fired amid Jacksonville's 3-14 campaign. Now, he'll be playing under new head coach Doug Pederson, who was hired earlier this month.
Along with Etienne, the Jaguars are also monitoring the rehab of fellow running back James Robinson after he suffered a torn Achilles in Week 16 against the Jets.
