JACKSONVILLE – Look-ahead Wednesday.
Let's get to it …
Jim from Middleburg, FL
Hi, John. Wow that hurts!
My Scooby Sense – and not my Scobee or Spidey sense – tells me you're referencing Jaguars rookie wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter on Tuesday being ruled out for the rest of the 2025 season after undergoing successful surgery to repair a lateral collateral ligament. It indeed was tough news – for the No. 2 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft and for the Jaguars. Hunter, who as a rookie this season was the first NFL player in nearly three decades to play significant and extensive roles on offense and defense, played at a high level pretty much all season at corner. He made several game-altering plays early in the season at receiver, and had his best game as a receiver in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7 – the game before the Jaguars' bye week. That he sustained a season-ending injury in practice a week or so after that Rams game indeed is something of a gut punch. The positive news here is it's my understanding that there's no reason Hunter's injury should affect his acceleration or movement moving forward. He essentially will be the same player after the injury as before, with the same miss-ability and electricity. It's unfortunate on many levels that Hunter didn't get a chance to play all 17 games this season because he absolutely is still adjusting to the NFL and needs the time on task that he will miss. There's nothing positive about this injury for the short- or long-term and it's also not a tragedy for the short- or long-term. A fascinating and important story for this franchise is simply put on hold. Stay tuned.
JT from Palm Coast, FL
Cursed franchise. Just like the New York Jets or Cleveland Browns. We are newer to this, but this is our lives as Jags fans. Gonna be a long season.
The Jaguars are 5-4 and in the seventh "playoff" position in the AFC. They lost a tough game this past Sunday. They are not a "cursed" franchise.
Anita from Springfield
When it rains, it pours. Queue the asinine takes (especially from national media) that this means Hunter can't play both ways despite already proving he can and only getting injured non-contact in a way that likely has nothing to do with playing both ways. Alas. This is what being a Jags fan is all about, I suppose ...
Tuesday was a tough day.
Mark from Archer
This is why trying to have a two-way player is a bad idea. Hunter goes down and we now have two positions down depth.
Yes, that is an element of having a two-day player. I don't know that it would be seen as that much of an issue if cornerback Jourdan Lewis was healthy and if the Jaguars' receivers beyond Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers were playing better.
Nicholas from Fort Hood, Texas
Well, the two sides of the ball, trade massive capital for two positions has showed its ugly head.
It's the NFL. Injuries happen.
Bradley from Death Valley, CA
Minor setback for major comeback is obviously code for potential career killer type injury.
Head Coach Liam Coen indeed referred to Hunter's injury as a minor setback for a major comeback. Hunter's injury is not considered a potential career-killer.
Michael from Crestview, FL
I read the news about Hunter. My first vibe was the Herschel Walker trade which led to the Dallas Cowboys being a dominant team in the 1990s. Cleveland doesn't seem like a team on the rise but our draft picks will help them climb out of their hole.
OK, I guess.
David from Saint Johns
The Texans were the better team Sunday. The stats don't lie. There is a lot left to play for Jags. Get over it and win the next one.
David is neck deep in the spirit of Look-ahead Wednesday. May we all be David today.
Kyan from Le Mars, IA
Is the season over, John? Today was the first day this season I checked an NFL mock draft. Made it longer than past seasons, but here I am. Also saddened to have to go to Round 2 to see our mock pick.
In what way would the season be over? The Jaguars are 5-4 and seventh in the AFC, which would qualify them for the playoffs. I understand the Jaguars haven't contended much in recent seasons, so maybe people don't realize that this is what contending looks like in the NFL. This is not college football. Good teams lose games. The Jaguars' season isn't remotely over. C'mon.
Alex from Duval
K'Lavon Chaisson has more sacks this season than Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker combined. Let that sink in.
I'd rather not.
Larry from Wattsburg(h), PA
I have noticed a drop-off in the ability to not only deal with adversity but rise against it at my retail job in younger folks. Might this be true also of these young people? Should codgers such as myself just buckle in and get used to it if we still want to watch this product? #JacksonvilleFootbalCodgers
I'm also an old man. The Jaguars have for the most part handled adversity fairly well this season. This week is the most they will have faced this season.
Nick from Virginia Beach, VA
The Tyson Campbell curse is real.
There is no curse.
Tim from Mandarin
"The Jaguars are still a team that should be in a lot of close games the rest of the season. " They are not playing horseshoes!
No one ever said the Jaguars are playing horseshoes. No one ever said being close was good enough. I have written often in recent weeks that the Jaguars will be in close games the rest of the season to make the point that while they are better than last season, they do not yet feel like a team that's going to have many double-digit, kneel-it-out victories. If this team is going to make the postseason or contend for it, it must win a lot of close games. That was the point.
Jordan from Mandarin
Another season and once again, I find myself saying, it's all about the big guys in the NFL. The team with the better lines typically win. Fortifying the O-line and reassembling the D-line seem like the task going forward.
Indeed it does.
JT from Palm Coast
Sorry John, I was wrong you are not the spin doctor. Brian Sexton needs his head checked. Playoffs?!? Stop it. This is a bad team. Penalties, bad o-line play, receivers dropping passes, bad defensive line play means this is a bad team. This team might win 8 or 9. Coach Coen is the right guy for us. That is the only plus. At the end of the year, we will look at this season as a huge disappointment. The only optimistic thing I can say is that before the season started, we wanted to see improvement from last season. This season is already an improvement from last season, but we need help that is not on this team and we need our highly paid players to play like they are highly paid. Trevor should get a lot of blame, but this is currently a poop show all around.
I thought entering the season the Jaguars could be an eight-to-nine victory team – maybe 10. I think right now they could be a nine-to-10 victory team. Nine victories for this team in Year 1 of a new regime from this view would not be a disappointment. It would be a very solid first step.
Crash from Glen Saint Mary
Obi Wan! OK. Win the four home games and beat the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans on the road. That's 11 wins and a ticket to The Dance, aye? Or am I too deep in the Guinness?
Not at all.
Jesse from CA
You keep getting us to believe and get our hopes up and once again: Same ol' Jags!
I don't counsel fans on how to feel or what to do. I write about the Jaguars and explain what's going on with the team. The Jaguars in the first season of a new regime are an improved team that's going to play a lot of close games this season. They're going to win some of those games and they're going to lose some this season because it takes time to build toward where the Jaguars are going.
Paul from St. Augustine, FL
I wish Travis Hunter a speedy and complete recovery. I wasn't a fan of drafting him, but he made a believer out of me. He's a supremely gifted athlete, and while I'm sure there's going to be no shortage of internet experts saying this injury somehow proves whatever opinion they had about the pick or Hunter playing both ways, none of that ultimately means anything. I look forward to seeing him come back next year and bring his game to a new level.
One fer Hunter.
