With Tampa Bay bringing in a franchise quarterback in Tom Brady, a franchise tight end in Rob Gronkowski, and adding one of the NFL Draft’s best tackle prospects, could a talented running back be next?
With the Jacksonville Jaguars electing to release Leonard Fournette on Monday, it has now led to speculation that he might not be leaving the state of Florida to play pro football.
Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians was asked about adding the former LSU star.
“We’ll wait and see,” Arians said, per NFL reporter Dov Kleiman. “He’s been a good player, we’ll just have to wait and see where he fits.”
Third-year running back Ronald Jones II is currently slated as the starter in Tampa after carrying the ball 172 times for 724 yards and six touchdowns and adding 31 catches for 309 yards.
Despite being released, Fournette has put together two 1,000-yard seasons in his three NFL years, rushing 268 times for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns in his rookie season and then adding 1,152 rushing yards and 76 catches for 522 yards in 2019.
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“At the end of the day, we feel … the skill sets of the guys that we have [can replace Fournette], and really that’s what led to the decision,” Jacksonville coach Doug Marrone said. “And it’s been something that we’ve done it with every single position we’ve been looking at. We’ve done cutups, we’ve done tapes, we’ve gone back, we’ve looked at everything, what we’ve tried to get done. So it’s not just the running back position; it’s all positions.
“And I wanted to make sure we had the best look of, hey, what’s going on right now? That’s the best indication of what we’re going to be able to get when we start this season, and I just feel that was the best — is what’s best for our team.”
Marrone said the Jaguars tried to deal Fournette, but couldn’t “get anything,” including a fifth- or sixth-rounder.
