Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter is dealing with an upper-body injury, and was held out of the team's joint practice with the Miami Dolphins this week, per ESPN. Hunter did not play in the Jaguars' second preseason matchup vs. the New Orleans Saints, and he will not play in the preseason finale vs. the Dolphins either. 

Jaguars coach Liam Coen said he thought about allowing Hunter to practice this week, but did not want the team's No. 2 overall pick to further aggravate the issue. 

"It was more just do we want him now or potentially not [playing against] Carolina [in Week 1]," Coen said, per ESPN. "It was more just being smart about the next few weeks because the ultimate goal is Carolina.

"Could he have probably gone? I think so. If this was Carolina, would he have probably played? Yeah, so we're moving in the right direction."

Hunter suited up for Jacksonville's first preseason matchup, which was a 31-25 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.Last season's Heisman Trophy winner played 11 snaps on offense and five snaps on defense. He caught two passes for nine yards with the starting offense, then returned to the field as a second-team cornerback, and missed a tackle on an outside run.

The extent of Jacksonville's dual-threat plans for Hunter remain unknown entering the regular season, but the club made it clear he will get the opportunity to impact the game on offense and defense. The fact that he's dealing with an upper-body injury is notable, as it remains to be seen if a player can approach legitimate "two-way" territory in today's NFL. 

Hunter played 713 offensive snaps and 748 defensive snaps last season for Deion Sanders' Buffaloes. He won the Biletnikoff award as the nation's best receiver after catching 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns, and won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as well. Hunter played the most total snaps (1,484) by any player in a single season since at least 2017.