Last week, former Jacksonville running back (RB) Leonard Fournette, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, was released by the Jaguars and cleared waivers shortly after.
According to the Jags, the team couldn’t get anything back for him on a trade, hence why he was ultimately cut. This baffles me for the reason I’m about to list, but this makes me think that there was another reason as to why Fournette didn’t receive any trade interest, or so the Jags claim.
I’m very confused about this ordeal. The reason I’m so confused is that he had two productive seasons in Jacksonville with only one bad season sandwiched in between them.
In Fournette’s rookie year in 2017, the RB had 1,040 rushing yards and nine touchdowns over his 13 games. The Jags also advanced to the AFC Championship that same season behind a legendary defense that has since collapsed.
Fournette was a victim of an injury-riddled sophomore slump in 2018, as he injured his hamstring in the season-opener. This injury caused him to miss two games, but eventually returned to the roster to play against the New York Jets. However, Fournette aggravated the injury in the same game and missed four more games to go along with a one-game suspension.
Ultimately, Fournette finished the year with 439 rushing yards and six total touchdowns. The following year saw Fournette return to form once again.
In 2019, Fournette had some truly impressive performances, including a 225-yard game against the Denver Broncos. Fournette also recorded a new career-high in rushing yards with 1,152 at the end of the year, accompanied by 76 receptions for 522 receiving yards.
Despite having two solid seasons with the Jags over three seasons, Fournette wasn’t spared from the chopping block. The Jags cut ties with their young RB as a part of an all-out collapse that has seen much of their 2017 squad decimated.
Interestingly, Fournette cleared waivers but was eventually swooped up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year deal, who are going all out this year with a bunch of past-their-prime players, including quarterback Tom Brady (43-years-old), the formerly-retired tight end Rob Gronkowski (31-years-old) and RB LeSean “Shady” McCoy (32-years-old).
There has to be unknown reason why Fournette was cut despite trending upwards in his development. But at the end of the day, we’ll never know exactly what happened with Fournette in Jacksonville.
