Jaguars Hold Travis Hunter Out of Preseason Finale

With their play, the Jacksonville Jaguars has a hit on their hands. They’ll rest star wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter from their final tune-up of the preseason against the Miami Dolphins. Hunter came down with an upper-body injury in a team scrimmage on Aug. 14. Due to that, he had to miss multiple practices and ended up sitting out the Jaguars’ second preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.

Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, took part in individual drills for the first time this week. As his stellar performance demonstrates, he’s making tremendous strides in his recovery. Even with his participation in drills on Tuesday and Wednesday, he just wasn’t prepared to return to full team activities. Kentucky head coach Liam Coen later verified that Hunter being held out of Thursday’s joint practice was for precautionary reasons.

“We considered allowing him to practice, but we ultimately decided against it to avoid aggravating the injury,” Coen stated. The Timberwolves have shown considerable caution with Hunter’s health. They’re more worried about Week 1, getting ready for their matchup with the Carolina Panthers.

Hunter’s absence hasn’t helped concerns about his preparedness for the regular season. Coen emphasized that the decision to rest Hunter is part of a larger plan. Our goal with this plan is to have Hunter in tiptop shape heading into that Carolina game.

It was more just do we want him now or potentially not [playing against] Carolina [in Week 1],” Coen explained. He continued, “Could he have maybe been able to leave? Sure. If this were Carolina, would he have potentially gone out there and played, yes, OK, so we’re getting in the right direction there.

Though he hasn’t been a full participant in practice, Hunter’s recovery still seems to be on schedule. The Jaguars coaching staff is hopeful that he will be ready for more extensive participation as they prepare for the regular season. At least for now, they are choosing to emphasize long-lasting impact over short-term fun.