Rachaad White is listed as the Bucs' #2 RB on the Week 1 depth chart. It's not a surprise after White was the 2nd RB to hit the field in the preseason finale -- but the confirmation is nice. We're still not expecting White to see enough action behind a healthy Fournette to be a reliable fantasy play. But a Fournette injury would turn White into a high-upside starter.
Bucs insider Greg Auman believes the team would prefer RB Leonard Fournette in the 60-70% snap range. Fournette climbed into the 80s in Weeks 12 through 14 last year before hurting his hamstring. But he was hovering around 60-65% in the 7 games before that. Fournette averaged 14 carries and 5.7 targets in those 7 games, scoring as the RB7 in PPR points. So 60-70% of the snaps is more than enough for him to produce as a RB1 in 2022 -- and it might even lower his injury risk a bit.
Bucs RB Leonard Fournette showed up to training camp in "great shape," HC Todd Bowles said. "I don't know too many players in the offseason that are going to stay in shape year-around," Bowles added. "As long as they're in shape in training camp. He ran great in the test yesterday – he’s explosive, he's quick and we're happy with him." So the Fat Lenny Era is officially over. Fournette never moved in our RB rankings and is a nice pick at his late-2nd-round ADP.
Bucs RB Leonard Fournette is down to 245 pounds and "back in shape," per insider Doug Kyed. Fournette's belly made headlines in June, but it sounds like he's back to playing weight. We'll keep an eye on his conditioning over the next few weeks, but Fournette looks safe to draft at ADP.
We're not done hearing about RB Leonard Fournette's offseason weight gain. Here's what Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times had to say on the subject this week, via the Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast: “Coaches were not happy, and that’s an understatement, when (Fournette) didn’t participate in the OTAs, but then he shows up at the mandatory minicamp weighing damn near 260 [pounds]. And that’s not a good sign for a guy that you’ve just spent a three-year contract on.” There's certainly still time for Fournette to get into shape ahead of the regular season. This is a red flag worth keeping in mind, though, given Fournette's history of lower-body injuries and his Round 2 ADP.
Bucs RB Leonard Fournette "seemed to be a little heavy and struggled some in the heat" on the 1st day of minicamp, The Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud observed. Fournette confirmed that's he's packed on some lbs., telling reporters that weighs “240-something” and wants to play around 230 or 228 pounds. Fournette has 3 months before the start of the regular season, so we're not sounding the alarms right now. But his conditioning will certainly be worth monitoring when we get to August.
Despite the addition of 3rd-round rookie RB Rachaad White, it doesn't sound like the Bucs plan on altering RB Leonard Fournette's role much this season. “Why it’s tough to get Lenny off the field, he’s a three-down back,” OC Byron Leftwich said. “He’s a smart guy, and he and Tom [Brady] can play ball. They can play ball together when it starts moving on them and things are changing and things have to happen, Lenny and him can play ball. They’ve been in these situations. That’s why it’s hard to really get him off the field because of what he brings and the connection him and Tom have. I think it’s unique. It’s not that we’re forcing him on that field. It’s because he’s the best in what we’re asking him to do." Fournette averaged 13.1 carries and 6.1 targets across 14 healthy games last season. Perhaps White cuts into those numbers a tad, but we're expecting the rookie to be more handcuff than standalone fantasy option this season. Fournette checks in as a top 10 RB.
The Bucs added Arizona State RB Rachaad White in the 3rd round of the 2022 NFL Draft. White spent the past 2 years at Arizona State after transferring from Division II Nebraska-Kearney. White posted nice per-game production in a mere 4-game, COVID-shortened 2020. He broke out as a senior, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 10.6 yards across 43 receptions – with 16 total TDs. He reminds us of a poor man’s David Johnson. White figures to sit behind Leonard Fournette for at least this season but has the upside to eventually develop into Tampa’s lead back.
The Tampa Bay Times' Rick Stroud believes there will be more of a "commitment to run the football" from the Bucs under new HC Todd Bowles. Tampa ranked 2nd in pass rate and 3rd in situation-neutral pass rate last season, so there's certainly room for more running. But we're not expecting a massive shift with QB Tom Brady and OC Byron Leftwich back in the fold.
The Buccaneers are re-signing RB Leonard Fournette to a 3-year, $21 million deal that could be worth up to $24 million. We'd bet there's some fluff built into that contract to inflate the overall numbers, but even in that case it's a much more significant commitment than the 1-year, $3 million pact that brought Fournette back for last season. Expect the 27-year-old to open the year as Tampa Bay's lead back and potentially continue operating as a true workhorse. For fantasy, expect Fournette's ADP to now work inside the top 4 rounds.
Update: ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the contract includes $11 million in guarantees, which should make it at least a 2-year deal.
Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) is officially active for today's Divisional Round game vs. the Rams. He's joined in the backfield by Gio Bernard and Ke'Shawn Vaughn.
Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) has been activated from IR. That puts him on track to play in Sunday's Divisional Round game vs. the Rams. Fournette has been sidelined since Week 15, which adds some uncertainty to his role. But we're expecting him to return as Tampa's lead back. RB Le'Veon Bell was waived to make room for Fournette.
Buccaneers RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) participated in Thursday's practice -- the 1st non-walkthrough of the week -- according to multiple reports. We won't get an official participation level on him because Fournette is still officially on IR, so we'll have to watch the reports on him into the weekend. Tampa Bay will need to activate him by Saturday afternoon to make the RB eligible to play Sunday against the Rams. HC Bruce Arians said early in the week that Fournette hadn't yet been able to run at top speed without feeling his nagging hamstring. Fournette's availability, of course, will affect the roles of Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Le'Veon Bell and Giovani Bernard. RB Ronald Jones (ankle) remained out of practice Wednesday and Thursday and seems to be trending toward missing another game.
The Athletic's Greg Auman calls Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) a "question mark" for Sunday's Divisional Round game after listening to HC Bruce Arians' Monday press conference. Arians said that he'll need to see whether Fournette is able to go full speed in practice this week, per Auman. Unfortunately, we won't get practice reports on Fournette because he remains on IR. Tampa will need to activate him by 4 pm ET on Saturday if he's going to play Sunday.
The Buccaneers are not activating RB Leonard Fournette from IR ahead of Sunday's game against the Eagles. That means Tampa Bay will go with a backfield of Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Le'Veon Bell and Giovani Bernard, whom the team did activate Saturday. Fournette seems likely to make it back from his hamstring injury for the Divisional Round -- assuming the Bucs beat Philadelphia, of course.
Bucs HC Bruce Arians labeled RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) a game-time decision for Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Eagles. Fournette was designated to return from IR on Wednesday, but he doesn't appear on this week's injury report because he hasn't been placed on the active roster yet. That'll happen by 4 pm ET on Saturday if Fournette is going to be eligible to play Sunday. For what it's worth, The Athletic's Greg Auman expects Fournette to play and start vs. the Eagles based on how he looked in practice this week. We'll look for further updates on Fournette and will get the Bucs' inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday. RB Ronald Jones (ankle) has been ruled out. LB Lavonte David (foot) has also been called a game-time decision.
The Bucs designated RBs Leonard Fournette (hamstring) and Gio Bernard (knee, hip) to return from IR. Both guys are eligible to return to practice and appear on track to play in Sunday's Wild Card game vs. the Eagles. We'll monitor their practice participation this week. Assuming they're healthy, Fournette should step back into a workhorse role, with Bernard mixing in for a few passing-down snaps.
Bucs HC Bruce Arians confirmed on Monday that RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) is expected back for Sunday afternoon's Wild Card game vs. the Eagles. Especially with RB Ronald Jones dealing with an ankle injury, Fournette should return as Tampa's feature back.
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