Trevor Lawrence Bids Travis Etienne Jr. Farewell After RB Lands With Saints

The quarterback and running back were teammates for eight years, dating back to Clemson.

Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne Jr. were teammates for eight years. | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Travis Etienne Jr. landed with the Saints in free agency on Monday following five seasons with the Jaguars. The running back agreed to sign a four-year, $52 million deal with New Orleans, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

This move ends an eight-year partnership between Etienne and quarterback Trevor Lawrence, dating back to their collegiate days at Clemson. Understandably, Etienne’s departure will hit hard for Lawrence as Etienne has been a constant in his football life for almost a decade. The quarterback posted a couple photos of the duo on social media after the free agency news dropped on Monday.

“We’ve come a long way!! Going to miss you man been a hell of an 8 year run. Best is yet to come,” Lawrence wrote in a tweet.

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

As you can see in the photo on the left, Lawrence and Etienne also became parents within months of one another as the quarterback and his wife Marissa had a daughter in January 2025, and the running back and his partner Esmeralda had a son sometime in the spring.

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Etienne reposted a different tweet about his longtime partnership with Lawrence coming to an end, adding a famous meme of a child crying while saying “I’m fine.” Both players seem to understandably be emotional about the end of an era.

https://t.co/QtymeA7FqI pic.twitter.com/8rKefOr8Cm

— Travis Etienne Jr⁶𓅓 (@swaggy_t1) March 9, 2026

Lawrence and Etienne’s partnership at Clemson

Lawrence arrived at Clemson during the 2018 season, which was Etienne’s sophomore year. In that first year together, the Tigers won the College Football Playoff title against Alabama. Clemson also won the ACC Championship title, and Etienne was named the MVP of that game. Etienne led FBS by scoring 24 rushing touchdowns that season. Lawrence was named ACC Rookie of the Year that season, while Etienne was named the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Offensive Player of the Year (he would win these two awards the following season, too).

Clemson competed in the national championship game the following season, but fell to LSU.

Lawrence and Etienne’s partnership on the Jaguars

Etienne elected to play four seasons at Clemson, while Lawrence played three seasons there, so they both entered the 2021 NFL draft together. Lawrence was selected No. 1 overall by the Jaguars, followed by Etienne being picked up by Jacksonville with the No. 25 pick. The duo would get to compete together again, this time in the NFL. However, their partnership on the field took a back seat as Etienne missed the entire 2021 season with a Lisfranc injury.

The quarterback-running back duo participated in two postseasons together, the first in 2023 and the second being this past NFL season. The Jaguars posted a 1–2 playoff record with Lawrence and Etienne on the team.

Across Etienne’s four playing seasons in Jacksonville, he appeared in 66 games, rushing the ball 897 times for 3,798 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also caught 168 passes from Lawrence for 1,338 yards and seven touchdowns (six of which came in 2025 alone).

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