Travis Etienne estimates he's nearly fully recovered from injury

Etienne is already participating in his team’s voluntary offseason conditioning program with new head coach Doug Pederson. The running back estimated that he’s 85-90% recovered from his Lisfranc injury, and while he’s still limited “in some of his weight-room work,” he’s been able to take part in most of the on-field drills.

“If I didn’t know I had a screw in my foot, I couldn’t tell,” Etienne said of his recovery (via DiRocco). “I feel like that’s a testament to where I’m at in my transition and how I’m healing.

“The screw is there. I think I will take it out. I could leave it there forever. I know most guys say leave it there, it never bothers them, but I just don’t want to be 40 years old with a screw in my foot, really.”

Considered a top prospect in the 2020 class, the Clemson product surprised many by returning for his senior season. His yards-per-carry figure dropped from 7.8 to 5.4, which probably helped the Jaguars secure him towards the end of the first round at No. 25. Despite the dropoff, he still had two 1,600-yard seasons and 70 career rushing TDs to his credit. As DiRocco writes, former head coach Urban Meyer was expected to use the rookie in “a Percy Harvin-type role,” but the preseason foot injury ended up knocking out the running back for the entire season. Of course, the injury also meant Etienne didn’t have to really deal with the turmoil surround Meyer’s brief tenure in Jacksonville, providing him with a clean slate heading into the 2022 campaign.

“Just seeing the results, you’re definitely like, ‘Whew, if there was any year to miss, I missed a great one,'” he told DiRocco.

With a new coaching staff in place, it will be interesting to see how Etienne is utilized during his first NFL season. Fellow RB James Robinson suffered an Achilles injury in December, so Etienne could find himself getting the bulk of the carries early in the season.