Travis Hunter has knee surgery, concluding his rookie season with the Jaguars.

Travis Hunter’s Rookie Season Cut Short

Travis Hunter’s debut season with the Jacksonville Jaguars has ended prematurely. On Tuesday, the team announced that he will need surgery to fix a torn lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his right knee, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

The Jaguars clarified that, aside from the LCL issue, no additional damage was found during the injury sustained in practice on October 30. The surgery was carried out in Dallas by Dr. Dan Cooper and the team’s physician, Dr. Kevin Kaplan.

According to the team, Hunter is anticipated to return to full football activities within six months, hopefully allowing him to start the 2026 NFL season.

This news unfortunately comes as a significant blow to Jacksonville, which has a 5-4 record and was in playoff contention. The remaining games will undoubtedly be tougher to manage without him.

Hunter was placed on injured reserve on Halloween, just a day after suffering a contact injury. Initially, the Jaguars hoped the injury wasn’t too severe, as an early MRI revealed that his ACL was intact. However, further evaluations confirmed the torn LCL, necessitating surgery.

In his rookie season, Hunter, who was the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, demonstrated promising skills. His last game saw him catch eight passes for 104 yards and score his first NFL touchdown during a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Overall, he racked up 28 receptions for 298 yards and one touchdown this season.

On defense, he managed 15 tackles and defended three passes, though he played only 36% of the defensive snaps prior to the injury, compared to 67% on offense.

The Jaguars recently made a trade to bolster their receiving options, bringing in JaCobi Meyers from the Las Vegas Raiders. This was especially crucial given that Brian Thomas Jr. has been struggling with drops and suffered an ankle injury in Week 9, while Dymi Brown is also dealing with a shoulder problem.

Now, Jacksonville needs to navigate another notable absence on their roster, particularly after a rocky performance against the Houston Texans, who remarkably scored 26 points in the fourth quarter to claim a victory over their AFC South rivals.