NFL Rumors: Jacksonville Jaguars Intend to Reduce Load for Star Running Back

Fantasy football players, take note. According to ESPN's Michael DiRocco, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne could see a reduced workload this season due to his team's concerted effort to add bodies at running back during free agency and the draft.

Per DiRocco, Etienne accounted for a colossal 74% of running back carries for the Jaguars following a late October trade of James Robinson. As the Jaguars see it, that's an unsustainable number, hence the acquisitions of D'Ernest Johnson in free agency and Tank Bigsby in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Despite his supposedly massive workload, Etienne didn't see staggering volume in 2022: his 255 touches ranked 16th in the league. If anything, Etienne proved last season he deserved more chances at carries and receptions: his 5.7 yards per touch tied with Christian McCaffrey for the most in the league of any player with 250 or more opportunities.

Still, it's the Jaguars' prerogative if they decide they want to limit Etienne's usage. The 2021 first-round pick tore his Achilles ahead of the 2021 season, and they may have concluded it behooves them to minimize his wear and tear as long as they can, even if it caps his potential in the short term. Given the short shelf life of running backs, Etienne could be better off.