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'I'm here to win games': Travis Etienne isn't concerned about heavy workload with Jaguars
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- 'I'm here to win games': Travis Etienne isn't concerned about heavy workload with Jaguars
Travis Etienne leads the league in touches and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.
The Jacksonville Jaguars ' running back isn't concerned because he has just one main mission.
"I'm here to win games. I don't care about a workload. So, it's like, as long as we winning, I don't care if I get two carries or 30 as long as we get the 'W' at the end of the day. I feel like that's what I'm always about. That's what I'm here for," Etienne said in the locker room earlier this week.
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Through seven games, Etienne has carried the football 127 times for 504 yards and seven touchdowns, to go along with 24 receptions, bringing his touch total to 151 for 700 total yards. Both metrics lead the league thus far this season.
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) celebrates in the end zone with fans after his early second quarter touchdown. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Indianapolis Colts at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, FL Sunday, October 15, 2023. The Jaguars ended the first half with a 21 to 6 lead. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
Etienne has played 385 total snaps, which translates to 79.55 percent of the Jaguars' offensive snaps this season. That's good for the highest percentage in the league among running backs. Behind him is San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCraffrey with 354 snaps and 78.84 percent of the offensive snaps played for his team.
To put it in perspective, Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry has played 55.74 percent of the Titans' offensive snaps. Indianapolis Colts RB Zack Moss is second in the division for running backs at 61.10 percent.
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Etienne's workload is by far one of the heaviest in the league. Even with that, he has yet to turn the ball over this season, something the third-year back struggled with last year at times with five fumbles. It was a simple adjustment, Etienne said, noting that fumbling is how players lose jobs.
"I love my job, so it was an easy fix for me," he said. "It was just a sense of understanding the NFL, just understanding that they're always pushing at the ball. So, last year you would see me try to get that one extra yard and try to stiff arm in between the tackles where now I'm just gonna cover the ball up and go on to the next play. There's no need to fight for the extra yard."
Still, Etienne is tied for the league lead in missed tackles forced with 32, according to Pro Football Focus. While he may not be "fighting for the extra yard," except for when the team needs a first down, he certainly is giving defenses fits when it comes to breaking free.
Travis Etienne feels he has plenty more to give
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) jumps past New Orleans Saints safety Marcus Maye (6) during an NFL football game, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)
The Jaguars are running the football well, but Etienne feels he has plenty more to give in that department despite his three-game streak where he has two touchdowns in each game, a franchise record.
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"I feel like these past couple games, the touchdowns have been cool, but I've had like 50 yards, 60 yards. I feel like I'm the type of guy, I wanna go out and have like 100 yards and I feel like that's what I look forward to or that's like, as a running back, [what] I want," Etienne said.
If Etienne scores two rushing touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend, he will become the first back since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 to score two TDs in four straight games. Etienne still is working to grasp the perspective on what he's doing. It's beyond rare what he's accomplished.
"As football players, I feel like you're always worried about, 'OK, we won that game, now it's onto the next,'" he said. "So, just kind of smell the roses and understand where I'm at and where I could take it. God blessed me to be in this position and I just have to put my best foot forward to continue to strive and do great things."
Jaguars want to incorporate other backs down the stretch
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby (4) scores on a 1-yard run as Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) watches during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
While Etienne has provided the Jaguars with plenty of offensive firepower through the first seven weeks of the season, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson understands that maybe he needs a bit of a breather from time to time even though "Travis is a tough kid," he noted Monday.
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"We've got to be mindful that we're not overworking him, we've got to get Tank [RB Tank Bigsby ] and D'Ernest [Johnson] and if JaMycal [Hasty] is up, we've got to get those guys involved in the offense and get them some more touches."
Part of why Etienne's snap counts are so high this year is because of his ability to block on third down as well as catch the ball out of the backfield. Bigsby, a rookie, simply doesn't have the experience. Johnson's usage could see an uptick soon enough, but Etienne is the best of the bunch.
"We just got to keep the other guys coming," Pederson said. "It's not that we don't have confidence in them, but we just feel like TJ [Travis Etienne] has the hot hand and we continue to keep him going. We're definitely mindful of the wear-and-tear on his body as we go."
Bigsby has 20 rushing attempts for 45 yards and two touchdowns, while Johnson has seven carries for 27 yards thus far this season. Maybe that'll change.
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Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars RB Travis Etienne more concerned with winning than statistics
