Feb. 10, 2026, 12:31 p.m. ET

On both offense and defense, the Jacksonville Jaguars will be getting a big boost in 2026 when Travis Hunter returns to the field.

Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered during a practice ended his rookie season early.

Prior to that point, Hunter appeared poised for a much larger role on offense moving forward. In the previous game, his playing time went up, and he posted his first 100-yard game in the NFL, along with hauling in his first touchdown.

During Super Bowl week, quarterback Trevor Lawrence sat down with Matt Harmon of Yahoo! Sports to discuss a variety of topics, including Hunter.

“I think just the way he is, his personality, I think this injury and rookie year, is only going to just make him better,” Lawrence said. “He was starting to really get going on offense, and we were starting to click. So it was tough timing, and I really hated it for our team and for him, but I do think he’s look back on it’s an area where he could grow and get to sit in meetings and see installs every week, and not necessarily have the physical stress on his body, but he gets to learn, and he’ll feel even more confident coming into the spring of knowing the system.”

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Both James Gladstone and Liam Coen have made it known that Hunter will continue to play both ways moving forward.

However, given the current construction of the roster, there may be more opportunities for him on defense, at least early on in the 2026 season.

Hunter brings impressive ball skills to both the offense and defense, along with an ability to make plays with the ball in his hands when at wideout.

“Who knows, as far as offense, defense, that split, I don’t know what that’s going to look like,” Lawrence added. “It’s not necessarily my decision, but I think it’s going to be where the team needs him most. And obviously he can play both. He has shown that he can, so who knows what the rep count looks like.”

“But I know he’s a special receiver when he gets the ball in his hands, and just his ability to go up and make any catch is pretty unique, and not a lot of guys have that. So as a quarterback, you want to see him on the field on offense too.”