A severe ankle injury that derailed Jordan Travis’s dreams of a Heisman Trophy and an undefeated, championship season in 2023 for his Florida State Seminoles has ultimately ended his football career.
Travis, a quarterback drafted in the fifth round last year by the New York Jets, announced his retirement Wednesday.
“I gave everything I had to the rehab process but despite all my efforts, my leg never responded the way we hoped,” Travis, 24, said in a statement released by the Jets. “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 noted in his statement that on Nov. 18, 2023, his life and athletic career “took an unexpected turn.” While playing for FSU that day against North Alabama, Travis suffered a fractured and dislocated left ankle when he was tackled on a scramble.
At the time, the Seminoles were No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings — putting them in position to make the then-four-team tournament — and their eventual win that day kept them undefeated at 11-0. Even without Travis for its final two games, FSU ran its record to 13-0, but his injury was cited as a major factor by officials in dropping the Seminoles to fifth place in that season’s final CFP rankings. That left the program with no chance at a national title, and Travis wrote on social media that he was “devastated.” His team’s undefeated season ended in lopsided fashion with a 63-3 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl.
Travis finished fifth in voting for the 2023 Heisman Trophy, which went to LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. A sixth-year senior after starting his college career at Louisville, Travis had been a preseason favorite for the award, and even with his final college season cut short he finished with impressive numbers. Travis won ACC player of the year, posting 2,756 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns and just two interceptions, plus another 176 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
“As I reflect on my journey,” Travis said Wednesday in a statement he shared on social media, “I am overwhelmed with gratitude. From having the opportunity to live out my dream at Florida State University to hearing my name called in the NFL draft … I am incredibly thankful for everyone who has poured into me throughout my life and career.”
— Jordan Travis (@jordantrav13) April 30, 2025
In March, after spending the 2024 season on the non-football injury list, Travis’s agent told ESPN that the quarterback’s “rehab with the Jets was not the best,” after the team allegedly “tried to rush him.” That caused an unspecified “setback,” per the agent, Deiric Jackson. The Jets said, per ESPN, that they had followed the rehab plan set up by the surgeon who repaired his ankle. Jackson also reportedly said then that Travis should be available to play in the 2025 season.
“It is unfortunate that he was unable to get back on the field after working so hard,” Jets General Manager Darren Mougey said in a statement Wednesday about Travis. “We support his decision and wish him only the best.”
In the wake of Travis’s announcement, several FSU players paid tribute to a beloved former teammate.
“Not many people love the game of football the way you do,” linebacker Jared Verse, a first-round pick last year by the Los Angeles Rams, wrote on X. “Watching this chapter close hurts, but seeing the strength, heart, and grace you’ve shown through it all makes me even prouder to call you my brother. I’ll never get to sack you like I always dreamed, but I’ll always be in your corner. Love you, and I can’t wait to see where life takes you next.”
