LONDON – Did Travis Hunter’s latest coming out partyhappen at the same time as Brian Thomas Jr.’s going away party?
It sure looked like it, and if you’re the Jacksonville Jaguars, that must be your primary internal discussion point during the upcoming bye week.
How do you get Hunter more involved offensively after he caught four passes for 59 yards and one touchdown in the Jaguars’ 34-31 loss to the Houston Texans at Wembley Stadium without making the defense weaker?
You do it by giving up on Thomas.
Move on from Thomas via trade well ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline to clear the play-time deck for Hunter.
Move on from Thomas even if you don’t get anything more than a sixth-round pick in return … and then use that pick to help find help at cornerback
(more on that in a bit).
Despite needing a miracle to beat the Philadelphia Eagles over here and then getting fileted for 426 yards by the Texans, the Jaguars are still the class of the AFC South. But they are not a complete puzzle. Pieces need to be filled. Roles need to be increased or eliminated.
Thomas no longer deserves to be a part of the solution. He has turned into too big of a problem. Does he work hard? Yes. Is he a good teammate? By all accounts. Does he show flashes of production? Not really.
Thomas dropped a pass on the Jaguars’ first drive at the Houston 28-yard line and on the second-to-last play of the first half, he couldn’t collect a catchable pass at the Texans’ 45 that could have given kicker Cam Little a chance from 62 yards.
Six points in a three-point loss.
Six points in a game in which the Jaguars had to rally from 10 points down entering the fourth quarter.
Enough is enough.
How do we know?
Thomas didn’t play a snap in the second half.
Regarding Thomas, Coen out of words
An enduring sight of Thomas in the fourth quarter during a Jaguars’ offensive possession was him standing on the sideline with his arms folded.
He knew he wasn’t going to play.
He knew he had been benched.
He knew he might be the No. 5 receiver (if he’s still around) after the bye behind Parker Washingotn, Jakobi Meyers, Josh Cameron and Hunter.
Through a team employee, Thomas declined to talk after the game, which at this point, there isn’t much more to say.
Heck, even coach Liam Coen had run out of words.
Since the start of last year, Coen and the Jaguars had always projected a supportive tone about Thomas. He has talent. He has the want-to. He has great this, great that and they like him, etc.
But after losing to Houston, I asked Coen how difficult it would be to show confidence in Thomas again.
The first part of Coen’s answer: “Just week to week. Week to week.”
You can tell, as he looked down at the game statistics, he was trying to provide something – anything – that would mask his body language.
Instead …
“Guys have to step up and make plays,” Coen said.
That was the complete answer from the most insightful NFL head coach I have ever covered, the kind of guy who can give you a two-minute answer on simulated blitzes … and you could use every word of it.
Thomas has been given every opportunity step up and make plays this year, just like he was last year before spraining his ankle against Las Vegas in Week 9.
Through six games, Thomas has nine catches for 105 yards, both fifth-most on the Jaguars.
The Jaguars, even if they wanted to, would have received no value (in their eyes) for Thomas last offseason.
They shouldn’t care about value at this point. If they don’t trade him, deactivate him. No. 5 receivers in the NFL contribute on special teams. He doesn’t.
Cameron has earned more playing time and now Hunter has, too.
Hunter was Jaguars’ best player
Now, about Hunter. His seven-yard touchdown catch with 11:26 remaining cut the Texans’ lead to 31-28 and his end-zone interception with 3:53 remaining kept the Jaguars’ hopes alive.
Hunter became only the third player in the Super Bowl Era to have a touchdown catch and interception in the same game, joining Roy Green in 1981 and Jacksonville native/Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins in 2002.
The Jaguars wanted to ease Hunter into two-way duty, a plan that was sound and correct. After all, they were still committed to Thomas as one of their top three receivers. Hunter had two catches for 17 yards in Games 1-5.
But against Houston, he was the Jaguars’ best player. As a receiver, he had catches of 26 and 19 yards before his touchdown. As a cornerback, he started and once he cleans up some of his technique, he should excel.
“That was part of the plan, getting him a little more involved (offensively) early,” Coen said. “He made some critical plays on both sides of the football for us. He had the (interception) late, which gave us a chance to win the game. I was proud of the way he competed.”
Hunter’s teammates, even after a loss, grinned when I asked them about The Travis Hunter Show.
“That was awesome (to watch),” tight end Nate Boerkircher said. “You see him make a pick on defense and then it’s crazy to see a guy play both ways. Really cool to be on his team.”
Said cornerback Jarrian Jones: “That’s what he does. I love what I see from him on offense.”
Thing is, the Jaguars really need Hunter to play every snap on defense because their cornerback production is in a bad way, the kind of bad way that should have Coen and general manager James Gladstone plotting ways to acquire help via trade. Jones is in a slump and Buster Brown (hamstring) has played nine snaps in the last three games.
This still has the potential to be a special Jaguars season and Hunter could be on the cusp of a special final 10 games. But in order to maximize him, the Jaguars need to move on from Thomas and add cornerback depth.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays ("First Coast Football Friday" 4-7 p.m.).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: It is time for the Jaguars to trade or deactivate WR Brian Thomas Jr.
