Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sign Leonard Fournette

Leonard Fournette joined Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday, on a one-year deal. Shortly after being released from the Jacksonville Jaguars, one of the best running backs in the league found a new team.

Fournette signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers with the base salary of $2 million and with $1.5 million in additional incentives depending on his productivity and playing time. According to the sources, he shouldn’t have any problems meeting those requirements.

The team itself didn’t officially confirm this news, but the player has, posting a picture on his Twitter account with him in the Buccaneers’ jersey. In the meantime, all the relevant NFL insiders reported about this deal.

.@Buccaneers ✍🏾 #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/IEX9jXHQAf

— 7⃣ Leonard Fournette (@_fournette) September 3, 2020

Fournette was the fourth overall selection at the 2017 NFL draft, with the Jacksonville Jaguars taking the flamboyant running back. He would quickly establish himself as the leading player in the team, and one of the best in the league, recording 1,000+ rushing yards in the rookie season, carrying the football nine times into the endzone, and catching one score. Also, he added four TDs in the playoffs throughout three games.

The Buccaneers were in desperate need of a high-profile running back, and the 25-year old who was attending college at LSU happened to be the perfect pick in the perfect moment. Tampa Bay had the worst efficiency in the entire league when looking at the averaged yards per carry, 3.7 in the 2019 campaign.

During the offseason, they landed the veteran LeSean McCoy, who, although has a stellar biography, is way below his previous level of play. With Ronald Jones and Dare Ogunbowale, they needed one high-profile guy to take the majority of snaps. Jacksonville’s decision to cut their ties with Fournette came in the right moment for the Bucs.

With Brady as the leader and a starting QB, Gronkowski, Evans, and Godwin as his targets, they already were a Super Bowl candidate. Now, with Fournette, who is a Pro-Bowl caliber player, they covered the running game and are very dangerous in the attack.

In his three years in the NFL, Fournette played 36 games, starting in all of them, recording 2,631 yards on the ground with 17 TDs, and 1,009 receiving yards with two TDs. Last year was excellent for him with 1,152 rushing and 522 receiving yards. However, his Jaguars were one of the worst teams in the league, with a very toxic atmosphere inside the locker room.

What was once a promising young core, filled with potential, especially in defense, disappeared in a pretty unpleasant way. AJ Bouye, Jalen Ramsey, Yannick Ngakoue all these guys ended in different uniforms, and often by forcing their way out.

Back in 2017, following the playoffs, all the experts predicted a bright future for these guys. They eliminated the Bills and the Steelers before losing to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Fournette was the main weapon throughout these games, particularly in Pittsburgh, when Jags made a massive upset and eliminated the Steelers, 45-42. Each time there was a critical play, Fournette was bashing the rival’s defense. In the end, he had three TDs.

Fournette once again has a chance to attack the Super Bowl, and maybe this time, he has more luck.