Bucs RB Leonard Fournette will start today's game vs. the Rams, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The title of "starter" doesn't mean much, as Ronald Jones can attest. Jones got the start last week and ended up carrying just 6 times. But we were already expecting Fournette to operate as Tampa's lead back today, and this news only helps his Week 3 outlook. Per Rapoport, Jones has had a "frustrating couple of weeks, including 1 play last week that drew the ire of the coaches when he went out of bounds right before the 1st-down marker."
Bucs HC Bruce Arians says RB Ronald Jones' "play isn't as good as it should be." After losing a fumble in the opener, Jones blew a blitz pick up and got QB Tom Brady sacked in Week 2. "He’s got to get out of those types of situations," Arians added. "I thought he ran hard and protected the ball, but again, you can’t have those mental errors. … It’s just attention to detail, like missing that blitz." Jones has just 10 carries and 3 targets through 2 weeks and is impossible to trust in fantasy lineups. Don't be surprised if RB Leonard Fournette's role continues to grow.
Bucs RB Ronald Jones will start Sunday's game against the Falcons, HC Bruce Arians said Tuesday. It feels like an olive branch after Jones was benched for his 2nd-quarter fumble in the opener. "Starting," of course, just means that Jones will be on the field for the 1st play of the game. It doesn't tell us anything about how big a role he'll play. This still figures to be a 3-man committee, with Jones and Leonard Fournette playing on early downs and Gio Bernard in passing situations.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard is dealing with a "mild" high-ankle sprain, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. Pelissero adds that Bernard is expected to be ready for the season opener vs. Dallas. But this would need to be an extremely mild high-ankle sprain for that to be the case. We'll keep an eye on Bernard's status. His absence would open up passing game work for RB Leonard Fournette (and maybe a bit for RB Ronald Jones.
Bucs RB Gio Bernard will be a "major part of the offense," HC Bruce Arians said Thursday. Arians went on to say that Bernard has been “more than pretty good” since joining the team. Arians is no stranger to hyperbole, so take this with at least a small grain of salt. But Bernard did match RBs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones with 2 snaps with the 1st-team offense in the preseason opener. Both of Bernard's snaps came on 3rd down. We're expecting him to play a big role on passing downs -- although we'd still be surprised if he took too many carries from Fournette and Jones.
The Athletic's Greg Auman calls Gio Bernard the Bucs' "likely" pass-catching back. That could be a valuable role considering Tampa RBs combined for 119 targets last year. Bernard, though, will need to beat out Leonard Fournette among others for that job. Bernard has caught 30+ passes in all 8 of his NFL seasons, including 47 last year. But he turns 30 in November and settled for a cheap, 1-year deal with the Bucs this offseason after getting cut by the Bengals. He's not guaranteed anything. We'll monitor the battle for the passing-down snaps in this backfield.
The Browns are trading RB Carlos Hyde to Jacksonville in exchange for a mid-round draft pick, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. This doesn't bode well for RB Leonard Fournette's return from his hamstring trouble. Hyde joins T.J. Yeldon in the Jaguars backfield for now, although it's unclear if Hyde will be active for this weekend's game against the Texans. Meanwhile, Nick Chubb takes over as the primary ball-carrier in Cleveland. The rookie has flashed in limited chances, averaging 10.8 yards on 16 carries. He immediately jumps into the RB2 mix.
UPDATE: The Browns are receiving a 5th-round pick.
Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette (hamstring) is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game against the Patriots. He didn’t practice all week but did resume running on Thursday. HC Doug Marrone seemed “optimistic” about Fournette’s status on Friday, according to insider Hays Carlyon. We’ll look for updates on Fournette on Sunday morning. Jaguars-Patriots doesn’t kick off until 4:25 pm ET, so owners hoping to use him need to have a late-game insurance plan rostered. T.J. Yeldon will serve as Jacksonville's lead back if Fournette sits out.
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