Trevor Lawrence’s Emotional Goodbye to Travis Etienne Marks End of Longtime Duo

En route to the 2019 College Football Playoff national championship at the end of the 2018 season, no two players were more instrumental to Clemson than Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne.

On Jan. 8, 2019, the duo combined for 438 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns in a 44–16 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide football to secure the national title.

At the time, however, no one could have predicted what the future held for the pair — or how their story would come to a dramatic close seven years later.

The announcement broke on Monday afternoon: Etienne, a free agent, had been picked up by the New Orleans Saints on a four-year, $52 million deal.

A Louisiana native, Etienne won’t be too torn up about a return to his home state. But leaving Jacksonville and good company behind is sure to elicit some emotions.

“We’ve come a long way!! Going to miss you man been a hell of an 8 year run. Best is yet to come,” quarterback teammate Trevor Lawrence said on X.

We’ve come a long way!! Going to miss you man been a hell of an 8 year run. Best is yet to come 💪🏼🧡 @swaggy_t1 pic.twitter.com/BbW1Rcfiyl
— Trevor Lawrence (@trevorlawrence) March 9, 2026

From 2017 to 2020, Etienne recorded 4,952 yards on the ground, another 1,155 through the air and 78 total touchdowns across four seasons. After year one, Lawrence came into the picture.

Together, the duo commanded Clemson’s backfield from 2018 through the end of the 2020 season. In those three years they shared the field, either Trevor Lawrence or Travis Etienne — and both in 2019— finished among the top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting, cementing them as two of college football’s most consistent stars.

But their journey runs deeper than that. Selected first and 25th overall, respectively, in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence and Etienne took their talents to Jacksonville. Together.

But in their first year, Etienne and Lawrence led the Jags to a 3-14 team record, with Lawrence throwing only 12 touchdowns and leading the league with 17 interceptions.

In a heartwarming display of faith and support for his long time friend and teammate, Etienne picked Lawrence up.

“Just be cocky, stop caring what people think,” Etienne said after Lawrence’s first year in the league. “Just don’t give a damn, you’re the man. Just go out there, be yourself, make plays and just play fearlessly with reckless abandon.”

That advice got through. The following season, the Jags turned in a 9-8 record, winning the AFC South and securing Jacksonville’s first playoff berth since 2017.

Then, after throwing four first half interceptions, Trevor Lawrence mounted one of the greatest playoff comebacks in NFL history against the Chargers, winning 31-30.

“You couldn’t write a crazier script,” Lawrence said after the 27-point comeback.

Etienne complemented Lawrence with 109 rush yards, while Lawrence equaled his interception count, 4, with passing touchdowns — all in the second half.

Together, Etienne and Lawrence transformed Duval, marked by another AFC South title this year behind an MVP-caliber campaign for Lawrence that ended the regular season 13-4.

"I don't think I ever seen Trevor like this. We won a national championship together and I feel like he's just out there. He's on fire man,” Etienne said after Lawrence led the Jags to a 48-20 win over the Jets in December, which extended the team's record to 10-4.

Behind new head coach Liam Coen, the Jacksonville Jaguars seemed to have finally found their groove this past year. But in a reminder of how cruel free agency and the business side of football can be, the long-standing partnership between Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne ultimately came to an end.

Its grief is shared by Lawrence, Etienne, Jacksonville and every Clemson fan that remembers watching the greatest quarterback-running back duo to ever grace the South land.

But for now, good luck, Travis. The best, as Trevor Lawrence knows, is “yet to come.”