Getty
Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr.
The Kansas City Chiefs may not have to recruit much to add a top running back this offseason, as one of the premier talents headed to free agency has expressed a desire to land with the franchise.
Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star reported on Friday, February 20 that Travis Etienne Jr., currently of the Jacksonville Jaguars but headed to free agency in March, wants to play his home games at Arrowhead Stadium.
“Ahead of Combine week, I’m hearing there’s legitimate interest from Travis Etienne to come to KC,” Sweeney wrote on X. “Etienne’s due to become a UFA on 3/11, and the Chiefs need a running back. We’ll see.”
Travis Etienne Can Offer Chiefs Significant Value on Current Contract Projection
GettyJacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr.
A former first-round pick, No. 25 overall in the 2021 NFL draft, Etienne just played out his fifth-year team option in Jacksonville.
Spotrac projects his market value at $6.8 million per season on a new two-year contract, which would total approximately $13.6 million. That is the type of deal the Chiefs could justify for a running back who just turned 27 years old and has a history of solid production — when he can stay healthy.
Etienne suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot during the preseason of his rookie year and missed the entire campaign. He has played all 17 contests in three of the four seasons since, crossing the 1,000-yard rushing barrier in each instance.
He suffered through a regression year in 2024, putting up just 558 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 15 games, and also produced his worst receiving campaign with 39 catches for 254 yards. However, Etienne bounced back strong last season with 1,107 rushing yards (4.3 yards per carry) for seven TDs along with 36 receptions for 292 yards and six scores through the air.
Chiefs Could Draft Jeremiyah Love Rather Than Add RB in Free Agency
GettyRunning back Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame.
Matt Bowen of ESPN earlier this week dubbed Kansas City the best fit for Etienne.
“Etienne has the play speed to upgrade a Chiefs run game that ranked 25th last season (106.6 yards per game). And with his dual-threat ability as a pass catcher, Etienne would be schemed on screens and backfield releases in coach Andy Reid’s system,” Bowen wrote. “This is a move to add more juice and big-play ability to the Kansas City offense. Etienne’s 26 rushes of 10 or more yards with Jacksonville tied for 12th in the NFL last season.”
The biggest potential obstacle to Etienne joining the Chiefs in the coming weeks is if the team decides to go all-in on drafting Heisman Trophy finalist Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame.
Most draft analysts project Love to be the first running back off the board in April, and Kansas City will have a shot at him with the No. 9 overall pick.
However, some believe the New Orleans Saints might move on Love with the 8th pick, so the Chiefs would either have to risk missing out on the star running back or hazard a trade to draft up and guarantee his selection, which would probably cost a Day 2 pick in return.
The Chiefs are also potentially in need of a pass-rusher, defensive tackle and offensive tackle in the draft, however, and all of those positions will be more expensive in free agency or via a trade than a running back.
Thus, Kansas City might do itself a bigger financial favor by selecting a player at one of those premium positions of need in Round 1 and spending less on a RB like Etienne in free agency.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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