This time last year, Travis Etienne was on the verge of beginning his NFL career.
He's still very much in that same situation as he sustained a season-ending Lisfranc injury in the preseason that called for surgery and ended his rookie campaign with the Jacksonville Jaguars before it ever got started.
Though missing a season is never a reason to smile, Etienne admitted Tuesday that being absent for a Jaguars 3-14 campaign rife with Urban Meyer-fused drama wasn't the worst season to have to miss.
"Just seeing the results, you're definitely like, 'Whew, if there was any year to miss, I missed a great one,'" Etienne said via ESPN's Michael DiRocco.
Etienne's injury was one of the starting points of a calamitous season for the Jaguars.
The Clemson product's selection by the Jaguars with the 25th pick of the 2021 Draft was a stunning one to many as the Duval roster was slim on talent all around, but not at running back, where James Robinson was coming off a resounding rookie season. Nonetheless, Meyer indicated he was looking forward to using Etienne in a versatile role in which he would potentially line up out wide.
That never came to be when Etienne was injured in the preseason and is still yet to play an NFL regular-season down.
What he missed was a season of chaos for the Jags in which they started 0-5 and later had an eight-game losing streak. Amidst all those defeats were a great many Meyer mishaps ahead of his firing in December.
Though Meyer drafted him, Etienne will (hopefully) take his first regular-season NFL snaps with Doug Pederson as his head coach.
Having given an update on his foot in February that it was at about an 80-85% range, Etienne said Tuesday he's improved to around 85-90%.
At this point on his road to recovery, Etienne isn't feeling the injury all that much.
"It's actually crazy because I was talking to my mom about this the other day," Etienne said, via ESPN. "If I didn't know I had a screw in my foot, I couldn't tell. 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."
Etienne has been present and on the field for the Jaguars' voluntary offseason workouts, but said he's been limited in some of his weight-room work. He is doing the "majority" of the work and still believes he'll be cleared by training camp.
And after all that -- finally -- Etienne will get a shot to make a delayed first impression.
"I kind of heard bits and pieces from my running back coach [on how he may be used in the offense]," Etienne said, via ESPN. "But I'm sure they plan on getting the ball in my hands. I feel like I'm a special player with the ball in my hands."
