Travis Etienne's Top NFL Free Agency Landing Spots After Jaguars' Playoff Loss

The Jacksonville Jaguars' dream season came to an end with a Wild Card round loss in the 2026 NFL Playoffs. While the team is taking its narrow defeat to the Buffalo Bills in stride and called it a "growing moment" for a franchise that looks to be on the rise, Jacksonville may be in danger of regressing next season.

The Jags are facing some critical offseason decisions, including the impending free agency of star running back Travis Etienne Jr.

After spending a half-decade in Duval, Etienne is about to hit the open market for the first time. He couldn't have picked a better time either, as he's coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, had a strong performance in the playoffs and is ranked as the No. 1 running back on the Bleacher Report Scouting Department's latest free-agent big board.

While fellow 1,000-yard rushers like Breece Hall, Javonte Williams and Kenneth Walker III will all be available this offseason too, Etienne's first-round pedigree and production will make him the top choice for many teams in the market for a backfield upgrade.

Although Etienne is one of the league's marquee free agents, Spotrac is estimating that the back will only earn $6.8 million per year on his next deal. Even if he ultimately signs a contract that pays slightly more—perhaps a frontloaded three-year agreement for around $25 million—that could still wind up being one of the offseason's biggest bargains.

With Etienne's blend of talent, experience and cost-effectiveness, he projects to be at or near the top of free-agent wish lists for several teams, including cash-strapped contenders looking to move the needle on a budget.

With that in mind, let's highlight the top potential landing spots for Etienne in free agency.

Dallas Cowboys

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The Dallas Cowboys are once again heading into another offseason with far more questions than answers at the running back spot.

While the Cowboys were fortunate to have signed Javonte Williams to a budget contract following the departure of Rico Dowdle last year, their breakout back is hitting the open market again and isn't guaranteed to remain in Dallas.

If Williams elects to take his talents elsewhere, the Cowboys will have to scour the market to find a replacement. With only little-used backups Jaydon Blue, Israel Abanikanda and Phil Mafah are under contract for the 2026 season, the door would be open for a blockbuster free-agent acquisition.

Etienne would be a sensible choice for a Cowboys team that should be feeling desperate for some backfield stability. The team hasn't fielded the same Week 1 starter in consecutive years since Ezekiel Elliott departed for the first time in 2022, but Etienne could fill that void and hold down Dallas' RB1 job for the next few years.

With a wealth of starting experience—Etienne has performed that role in 60 of his first 66 NFL games—and a history of availability after returning from a preseason Lisfranc injury that derailed his entire rookie campaign, the Cowboys could finally have a stalwart in their running backs room again by coming to terms with the 26-year-old.

Etienne projects to be a strong fit in head coach Brian Schottenheimer's scheme as well. Despite eschewing the chance to spend big bucks or use premium draft picks on running backs, Dallas still ranked inside the top-10 in rushing offense in 2025 and coaxed a career year from Williams—a player who was largely written off after averaging a dismal 3.6 yards per rushing attempt during his final two seasons with the Denver Broncos.

Upgrading to a more talented, versatile back like Etienne could elevate Dallas to the very top of the league in rushing, taking pressure off quarterback Dak Prescott to shoulder the offensive load in 2026.

Denver Broncos

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The Denver Broncos may have cruised to a 14-3 record and earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but there's still work to be done in the Mile High City if this program wants to evolve into a perennial Super Bowl contender.

Denver's backfield has been one of the roster's weak points since Sean Payton took the reins in 2023. The team hasn't ranked above No. 16 in rushing in any of his three seasons, including this past year when the Broncos averaged a middling 118.7 yards per game on the ground.

Denver attempted to rectify the issue during the 2025 draft by utilizing a second-round pick on R.J. Harvey. The UCF product has had an up-and-down rookie campaign that began with him failing to beat out J.K. Dobbins. Harvey was only seeing sparse playing time until the injury-prone veteran went down with a foot injury.

While Harvey has occasionally flashed the playmaking abilities that drew the Broncos to him after taking over as the team's RB1—including scoring 12 touchdowns on the year—he's yet to go over 75 yards on the ground in a game and finished his rookie campaign with a concerning 3.7 yards per carry average.

Barring an outstanding playoff run, the Broncos will want to give serious credence to signing a complementary veteran to share the backfield with Harvey next year. The team has a Super Bowl window and can't afford to squander it with an ineffective ground game.

Etienne fits the bill as a relatively affordable, proven weapon who can shoulder a heavy workload while Harvey mixes in as a big-play threat. Although their individual ceilings would be lowered, a Harvey-Etienne platoon would have the ceiling to emerge as the league's leading rushing attack.

Jacksonville Jaguars

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The Jacksonville Jaguars know exactly what they have in Etienne and shouldn't be willing to let him walk in free agency.

Etienne's resurgence was a major reason why the team improved from 4-13 in 2024 to 13-4 and won the AFC South title this past season. He was an ideal fit for head coach Liam Coen's system, putting up 1,399 all-purpose yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns on 296 touches.

Etienne performed well enough for the Jags to feel comfortable shipping off backup Tank Bigsby following the season-opener. He also kept Bhayshul Tuten—the new regime's hand-picked fourth-round rookie—at bay while playing 60 percent of Jacksonville's offensive snaps.

While Tuten still has plenty of promise and could eventually emerge as the RB1 in Duval due to his elite playmaking abilities, he's a better change-of-pace option at this point in his career. If Etienne departs, the Jags would likely need to use valuable draft capital or free agency dollars to bring in an unproven replacement.  

The Jags will have the option to franchise tag Etienne. While that won't offer a solution to their backfield issues beyond the 2026 season, it projects to be one of the more affordable tags with an estimated value of just $14.23 million.

A long-term deal in the three-to-four year range would be more ideal—and cost effective—for Jacksonville. Inking him to a frontloaded contract would allow the Jags to get Etienne's best years at a fair price while also giving them the flexibility to get out from under the contract if injuries or regressions catch up to Etienne by the 2028 or 2029 seasons.

Kansas City Chiefs

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The Kansas City Chiefs are going into the 2026 offseason with arguably more holes in their backfield than any other team.

There is a clear need for upgrades after Kansas City's running attack completely cratered in 2025. The Chiefs averaged a meager 106.6 rushing yards per game, ranking No. 25 in the league. That glaring lack of ground support played a role in the team's regression from a 15-2 record in 2024 to 6-11 this year.

Although the Chiefs returned effectively the same running back personnel from 2024—a campaign in which they also underwhelmed on the ground with an average of 105.3 yards per game, ranking No. 22 in the league—an overdependence on Patrick Mahomes and the passing attack to overcome that deficiency finally failed the club.

With Mahomes rehabilitating from a torn ACL suffered late in the year and plenty of other question marks doting the roster, the Chiefs can't afford to run it back yet again with Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt as their top RBs.

Pacheco has dealt with injury while steadily regressing since his breakout rookie campaign in 2022 and has now averaged fewer than four yards per carry in back-to-back seasons. Hunt stepped up admirably when he returned to Kansas City last year, but he looked completely cooked during an age 30 season and hasn't averaged more than 3.8 yards per carry since 2021.

Etienne represents a massive upgrade over both incumbents. He's still in his prime—he's only a few months older than Pacheco—and has been one of the league's most consistent backs since making his debut in 2022.

With the ability to effectively run between the tackles, hit home run plays after bouncing it outside and contribute at a high level in the passing attack, Etienne has all the tools to become the type of do-it-all lead back the Chiefs have sorely lacked in recent years.

New York Jets

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The New York Jets are on the cusp of a transformative offseason. With 12 picks in the 2026 NFL draft and nearly $90 million in projected cap space, the organization will look to re-tool the roster and put a winning team on the field the first time in over a decade.

Running back is one area the Jets may need to shore up with a top-flight free agent. Although Gang Green already has a good back in Breece Hall, the four-year veteran may be on his way out this offseason after testing the open market.

Hall will be on the radar for many RB-needy franchises following his first 1,000-yard rushing season. He was one of the few bright spots during the team's dismal 4-13 campaign, one that could lead Hall to sign elsewhere after he admitted his frustrations with consistently missing the playoffs. Being snubbed by his peers during voting for the team's MVP award at the end of the season probably won't help convince Hall to return either.

Etienne could be an ideal Hall replacement. The team has serious aspirations to finally snap the league's longest active playoff drought in 2026 and may not want to chance handing the backfield over to a less-proven back. Etienne is not only a similarly skilled player to Hall, but he's also a veteran who just helped lead a stunning year-over-year turnaround for a long-suffering franchise.

After slogging through a miserable 2024 season in which he posted career-low marks while missing seven games with injury, Etienne returned with a vengeance this year and helped guide the Jaguars to just their third playoff appearance since the start of the 2008 season.

That valuable experience shouldn't be discounted, especially for a team that is trending towards onboarding a slew of rookies this offseason. Having a veteran with that experience and leadership potential in the locker room would go a long way towards shifting Gang Green away from the losing culture that has long plagued the franchise.