JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. has been in the NFL long enough that he wasn't surprised when the team traded running back Tank Bigsby on Monday night.
He also wouldn't have been surprised if he had been the one sent to the Philadelphia Eagles for a pair of draft picks.
"Just being my fifth year in the NFL, I don't know if anything stuns you anymore," Etienne said. "You just kind of expect the unexpected at this point and you kind of just have to roll with it.
"... I've just got to continue to put myself in a position to just be the best I can be for myself."
Etienne seemed to do that when he rushed for 143 yards on 16 carries in the 26-10 season-opening victory over the Carolina Panthers.
However, trading Bigsby, who led the Jaguars in rushing and rushing touchdowns in 2024, but had five carries against the Panthers, makes it obvious that Etienne is the Jaguars' top running back going forward.
He excelled in that role here in 2022 and 2023, but there's much more at stake for him to do it again. That's because 2025 is an audition for a new contract in 2026 -- whether that's back with the Jaguars or somewhere else. Etienne is taking the same approach he did in the spring when he was the subject of trade rumors.
"I just focused on being the best version of myself," he said. "I know who I am when I'm healthy and I know that anyone in this league could use a player like me. So whether I was here, whether I was somewhere else, you're just going to get the best version of me.
"It really didn't matter where I was and I just approached it with that mindset and I was ready for my opportunities whenever they came."
Coach Liam Coen wasn't sure what he was going to get from Etienne after he took the job in January as the replacement for Doug Pederson. Etienne's 2024 season was a step back from the previous two -- he ran for 558 yards and two touchdowns and had 39 catches for 254 yards -- as Bigsby became the team's top back (766 yards and seven TDs).
However, after watching tape of Etienne from 2022 and 2023, when he rushed for 2,133 yards and 16 touchdowns and caught 93 passes for 792 yards and one touchdown, Coen knew Etienne could be a good fit for his offense, which thrives with a back who also can make plays in space in the pass game.
"You saw a guy get involved in space and make people miss and hit the holes hard," Coen said. "Timing and circumstances happen and the way that he was portrayed coming off of a tough year, coming into a new setting, everybody's got a fresh [opportunity] here. He took advantage of it.
"It took some time early on in terms of understanding the demands and the standards. Once he really got on the same page, it's been doing this [upward motion]. So, I've really appreciated his preparation of the system, his knowledge and the way that obviously he played on Sunday."
The 143 yards against the Panthers was the second-highest total in a single game in Etienne's career (behind only 156 against Denver in 2022), and he added three catches for 13 yards.
"That flexibility and versatility [in the run and pass game] show up, and that's ... a testament to his preparation," offensive coordinator Grant Udinski said. "Some of the situations that he might not have been in on or might not have excelled at previous times or earlier in training camp or in the spring, he's worked on and improved and been able to do that at a high level."
This Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. ET, CBS), Etienne is expected to get the bulk of the running back touches the way he did against the Panthers, when he had 16 of the group's 25 carries and three of the group's four catches, but now the rest of the workload will be split between rookies Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr.
However, Etienne knows that could change quickly, too, because it has before.
"I feel like last year really humbled me a lot," Etienne said. "... Just knowing that it's week to week each and every week, and knowing that nothing is promised, so I have to come in here and just make the most of my opportunities. Just having guys behind you who are hungry, competition, it pushes you.
"So just grateful just to be here, thankful for the opportunities that I get and I've just got to keep making the most of it."