{"id":1117,"date":"2026-06-03T10:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:04:20","slug":"panthers-etienne-watched-his-brother-cash-in-now-he-wants-to-take-next-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117","title":{"rendered":"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carolina Panthers running back Trevor Etienne<\/a> doesn\u2019t need to look long and hard for inspiration entering his second NFL season.<\/p>\n

Read more Mecklenburg outlines plan for social services after death of child in Charlotte<\/a><\/p>\n

The 2025 fourth-round pick\u2019s older brother, Travis<\/a>, just inked a four-year, $47 million deal with the New Orleans Saints<\/a> in March after having a career year with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season. The elder Etienne, a 2021 first-round pick, collected 5,136 scrimmage yards and 32 touchdowns during his five-year stint in the AFC South before signing with his younger brother\u2019s division rivals in free agency.<\/p>\n

Naturally, Trevor has looked to Travis for guidance<\/a> during the former\u2019s first full offseason. The pair trained together before heading to their respective offseason programs in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he talks, I listen,\u201d Trevor Etienne told The Charlotte Observer. \u201cI\u2019m a sponge around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travis, who played college football at Clemson, entered the league four years before Trevor. But the pair didn\u2019t get to spend much time working together, as Trevor was busy playing at Florida and Georgia during his own three-year college tenure.<\/p>\n

However, following the wild-card round of playoffs in January, the brothers were able to catch up and work out together.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that I appreciate about him is he never really forced anything on me,\u201d Trevor Etienne said. \u201cLike he kind of let me ask my own questions and figure things out on my own. But you gotta look at it \u2014 he\u2019s one of the best backs in this league, plays the same position. He\u2019s where I\u2019m trying to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this offseason, when Travis was introduced by the Saints, he corrected the longtime mispronunciation<\/a> of the Etienne\u2019s last name. While he was playfully called \u201cE.T.N.\u201d throughout his playing career at Clemson because of how Etienne is spelled, Travis noted that name is actually pronounced like Achane (AY-CHAN).<\/p>\n

Trevor \u2014 who went by the previous pronunciation throughout his own college career and last season with the Panthers \u2014 said the brothers never corrected the error in the past because it meant explaining it to a lot of people. But like his older brother, he now wants to be addressed with the correct pronunciation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, that\u2019s actually how you pronounce our last name,\u201d Etienne said with a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s (pronounced) Achane, but that\u2019s like some people at home \u2014 not a lot of people know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trevor Etienne received just 23 touches for 107 yards on offense as a rookie. During that time, he developed his mantra of \u201cstuck on ready, waiting on go,\u201d which essentially means that he will be ready when he\u2019s given a chance.<\/p>\n

Rico Dowdle has moved on to Pittsburgh<\/a>, but the Panthers are monitoring the long-awaited return of running back Jonathon Brooks<\/a>. Chuba Hubbard has returned to the starting lineup, and Brooks \u2014 a 2024 second-round pick \u2014 is likely to be the next man up if he can return to form following back-to-back ACL surgeries on his right knee.<\/p>\n

Carolina has used a relatively strict two-man rotation<\/a> at the position under head coach Dave Canales, so Etienne is going to need to carve out a role on offense in specific packages or be relegated to return duties, similar to his rookie season.<\/p>\n

Read more Vote for The Observer\u2019s high school athlete of the week (June 7, 2026)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been working really hard,\u201d Canales said of Etienne on Tuesday. \u201cHe looks great. He looks fast. We certainly trust him back there, returning the ball. And the way he has grown in that phase, doing punt return for the first time and really owning that role \u2014 he can help the team in a lot of ways. That\u2019ll help him, too. But I\u2019m excited to see him touch the ball when we get to the preseason and start playing real ball with the guys. That\u2019s going to be exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Etienne made a quality impression last summer. He picked up 47 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards in three preseason games. He also stood out in joint practices against the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans.<\/p>\n

But with two talented veterans ahead of him, Etienne was limited to just two touches in the final seven regular-season games of his rookie year.<\/p>\n

Now, he will need to make another strong impression, even with Hubbard and Brooks ahead of him on the depth chart. He\u2019ll also need to hold off the likes of A.J. Dillon, Tre Tyus and Miles Davis in camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot just competing with (Brooks),\u201d Etienne said. \u201cI mean, every back in that room wants to be the guy. I\u2019m not just competing with J.B., but I\u2019m competing with everyone, and we\u2019re all competing with each other. But I think that\u2019s what makes our group special. We all compete, and we all push each other to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Etienne had some rough moments in his first NFL season. As noted, he was limited on offense, and he primarily served as a returner on special teams. His work on kickoffs and punts led to mixed results.<\/p>\n

He entered the NFL with just two punt returns on his college resume. So, naturally, there were growing pains in that area. He averaged a respectable 8.2 yards per return but also muffed two attempts, including one in the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wants to drop a punt, much less drop two of them,\u201d Etienne said. \u201cBut you can\u2019t dwell on it \u2014 learn from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Etienne, as Canales noted, has gotten more comfortable fielding punts. While Etienne will need to compete for the job this summer \u2014 with the likes of David Moore, Jimmy Horn Jr. and John Metchie \u2014 Etienne feels like his work at the position will yield better results in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve definitely got a lot better,\u201d Etienne said.<\/p>\n

But Etienne doesn\u2019t want to be limited to special teams. He was drafted to be long-term contributor in the backfield. And even with Hubbard and Brooks ahead of him, Etienne can still potentially force his way onto the field with a strong summer in uptown Charlotte.<\/p>\n

He knows what he needs to do to break through before Week 1. It\u2019s a simple setup in his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave my mark,\u201d Etienne said. \u201cShow people what I can do \u2014 be that player that I was drafted here to be. It\u2019s time to take that next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Sewage spews into Lake Norman after \u2018pipe failure\u2019 Tuesday, Charlotte Water says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Chuba Hubbard back in the starting lineup and Jonathon Brooks aiming for a big return from injury, Trevor Etienne is competing for a job with the Panthers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nPanthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Chuba Hubbard back in the starting lineup and Jonathon Brooks aiming for a big return from injury, Trevor Etienne is competing for a job with the Panthers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T10:04:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T10:04:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117\"},\"wordCount\":1099,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/83d1b04f5107c5d9d6c5b38fb41b8489.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117\",\"name\":\"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/83d1b04f5107c5d9d6c5b38fb41b8489.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T10:04:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/83d1b04f5107c5d9d6c5b38fb41b8489.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/83d1b04f5107c5d9d6c5b38fb41b8489.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1117#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"With Chuba Hubbard back in the starting lineup and Jonathon Brooks aiming for a big return from injury, Trevor Etienne is competing for a job with the Panthers.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T10:04:20+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019","datePublished":"2026-06-03T10:04:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117"},"wordCount":1099,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/83d1b04f5107c5d9d6c5b38fb41b8489.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117","name":"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/83d1b04f5107c5d9d6c5b38fb41b8489.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-03T10:04:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/83d1b04f5107c5d9d6c5b38fb41b8489.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/83d1b04f5107c5d9d6c5b38fb41b8489.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1117#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Panthers\u2019 Etienne watched his brother cash in. Now, he wants to take \u2018next step\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}