Jordan Travis pushed through the struggles of a long and valiant comeback attempt from a serious leg injury until he was told it was time to finally walk away.
The New York Jets announced Wednesday that the quarterback informed them he will retire from playing football, a surprising NFL ending for the 24-year-old former Florida State star.
Travis hurt his left leg during a game against North Alabama in November 2023, the last time he played in a game at any level. His left leg rolled under a defender, twisting his ankle awkwardly and fracturing it.
Travis was a fifth-round draft pick last year but spent last season on the Jets’ non-football injury list. The team will now place him on the reserve/retired list.
“On November 18, 2023, my life took an unexpected turn,” Travis said in a statement released by the Jets. “I gave everything I had to the rehab process but despite all my efforts, my leg never responded the way we hoped. After much prayer and consultation with the doctors, medical experts and my agent, I’ve been medically advised to retire from the game I love so deeply.”
Travis, who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting that year, completed 63.9% of his passes with 20 TDs and two interceptions — improving his draft stock while leading the Seminoles to an 11-0 start before his injury.
Shortly after being drafted, Travis acknowledged he had thought about someday replacing Aaron Rodgers as New York's quarterback. He also insisted he never had any doubts he would recover from his injury and play again.
“No, sir. Never,” he said last May. “I mean, I love adversity. I love waking up every single day and having to make a choice. It just makes the story a whole lot cooler. I’ve always said that, from the day I broke my leg until now.
“I love it, man. So, no, there’s never been a doubt in my mind.”
Travis' agent Deiric Jackson told ESPN in March that the Jets “tried to rush” the quarterback's rehabilitation and that caused a setback in his recovery. The team said it followed the plan created by Travis' surgeon, and Jackson was “optimistic” the quarterback would be ready for this season.
Jets general manager Darren Mougey declined to comment on Travis last week during the draft when he was asked about his recovery.
“Jordan has informed us of his intent to retire due to the injury he sustained while at Florida State,” Mougey said in a statement Wednesday. “It is unfortunate that he was unable to get back on the field after working so hard. We support his decision and wish him only the best.”
In a hand-printed note posted on his X account, Travis said he was “overwhelmed with gratitude” as he reflected on his journey. He included his statement that was shared by the Jets and thanked the team for “believing in me and providing me with the opportunity to live out the ultimate dream.” He also thanked his familiy, friends, coaches and teammates for their support.
“It is crazy how fast life can change,” Travis wrote. “This is not the ending I had ever imagined, but I do trust The Lord's Plan above all else.”
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FILE - New York Jets quarterback Jordan Travis speaks to reporters during the team's rookie minicamp in Florham Park, N.J., on May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Dennis Waszak Jr.)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
