Leonard Fournette is looking for work, and there are a handful of potential landing spots that could be mutually beneficial.
In a move that seemed inevitable, if not at one point unbelievable, the Jacksonville Jaguars have officially moved on from Leonard Fournette.
Despite rushing for over 1,100 yards last season and being the Jags top offensive weapon since being draft fourth overall in the 2017 Draft, Fournette is out of work and looking for a new gig just two weeks before the NFL season is slated to begin.
So where could Fournette land? Whoever signs him won’t be getting the guy who was drafted near the top of the draft a handful of years ago but there’s likely something special left in Fournette’s tank and the right team could tap into that this year.
4
Chicago Bears
NFC North
Why They Need Him
After losing David Montgomery, even though it’s not as bad as initially feared, the Bears have a giant need in the backfield. Even with Montgomery healthy, both he and Tarik Cohen are way too similar to offer much of a different approach behind whoever ends up playing quarterback in Chicago this year.
It’s been evident since Jordan Howard was traded that the Bears need a running back who is more traditional than the hybrids that Cohen and Montgomery are. Fournette isn’t the most prolific pass-catching back, but he offers a rumbling locomotive-style that the Bears sorely lack in their offensive makeup. It’ll be a crowded backfield with Fournette involved, but it would be dynamic enough that the Bears would add a dimension to an offense that needs to figure something out this year.
Will It Work
Matt Nagy seems pretty set in his ways, and the crux of the Bears success is whether the quarterback situation can be figured out. Neither of those things bode well for Fournette, but that shouldn’t stop the Bears from taking a flier on him. There’s really nothing to lose, especially considering that if things don’t tick upwards in a pretty tremendous way in 2020, the only thing that will be lost are jobs.
3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC South
Why They Need Him
It’s Super Bowl or bust for the Buccaneers, full stop.
Tampa Bay is dragging itself out of football limbo, as signing Tom Brady rather significantly shows your hand as to what is expected out of this season. With Brady leading the offense, and with incredibly receiving weapons across the board, Tampa’s offense has the chance to be historically good this year. Adding a former Heisman Trophy candidate and top draft pick to the talent pool seems like a no-brainer, especially with how little there is to lose if Fournette doesn’t pan out.
Unlike other teams that might be interested in taking a chance on Fournette, the Bucs have the luxury of knowing that if the gamble doesn’t pay off it won’t be the difference between a winning and losing season. Tama Bay is loaded and signing Fournette both eases a need and also acts as a case of the rich getting richer.
Will It Work?
Tampa Bay already has a pretty loaded backfield, headed up by Ronald Jones and ending with LeSean McCoy. Needless to say, there’s already insane depth, which includes rookie Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Dare Ogunbowale, which is to say there’s a lot of mouths to feed.
Fournette instantly becomes an upgrade over almost everyone — including Jones — but will there be enough reps for him to make an impact? If the Bucs go the route of signing Fournette, he needs to be the starter and needs to get starting reps. That might not end up being the worst thing in the world as the Bucs lack a true starting running back, it’s just a matter of whether or not upsetting whatever order has been set will be worth it.