Four-year veteran running back Leonard Fournette signed a one year contract to return to his 2020 home. Fournette, a reigning Super Bowl champion, spent the 2020 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Bucs get another key free agent back, with Leonard Fournette agreeing to a one-year, $3.25 million deal. Playoff Lenny returns to Tampa.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 26, 2021
Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Agree to Contract
The 2020 season was Fournette’s first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After an up and down three years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was unceremoniously cut in the off-season. In playing for Tampa Bay, last year was Fournette’s first year in a back up role after being the number four overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Fournette was the backup to Ronald Jones, and was productive in that role. He had 97 carries for 367 yards and six touchdowns during the regular season. Fournette also had 36 receptions for 233 yards out of the backfield. He started in three games for the injured Jones at the end of the regular season. Fournette also shined in the postseason on the way to a Super Bowl win. In the 2020 playoffs, he carried the ball 64 times for 300 yards and three touchdowns along with 18 receptions for 148 yards and a score.
Fournette was drafted by the Jaguars fourth overall to be their feature back. And he was, for a short time. The 2017 season was a successful one for Jacksonville and Fournette was at the center of it. That year, Fournette had 268 carries for 1040 yards and nine touchdowns. He also had 70 rushes for 242 yards and four scores in the postseason that year.
However, the 2018 season was a fall from grace for the young back. He missed eight games due to a combination of injuries and a one-game suspension due to an in-game fight. The Jaguars voided the guarantees attached to Fournette’s rookie contract at the end of his sophomore campaign. Fournette’s 2019 season was about getting back on track. He got 265 carries for 1152 yards (good for 4.3 yards per carry which is the best in his career thus far) along with 76 receptions for 522 yards.
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