Leonard Fournette lingered on the free agent marketplace this spring, despite one of the most productive seasons of his career. Tom Brady, his quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the past two seasons, may have been a reason why.
Fournette is just 27 years old and recorded a career high 4.5 yards per carry last season while hauling in 69 catches in 14 games. But he was notably absent in the first week of the league’s official offseason. While players like JC Jackson, Terron Armstead and Chandler Jones signed deals, the former fourth overall pick took his time on the open market.
His first real hint of action didn’t come until the third week of March when reports broke he was set to take a visit to New England and consider signing with the Patriots.
That’s when Brady sprang into action.
Fournette said before he re-signed with Bucs as he visited the Patriots, Brady reached out to him and said “What’s your ass doing up there?”
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) June 7, 2022
Fournette went through with the trip, then re-signed with the Bucs one day later. Was that because he’d remain RB1 in Tampa rather than join a loaded platoon with Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson? Or was it because his legendary quarterback, a week after un-retiring, called him up to bust his chops about it?
It’s probably a little of both, but the end result was Fournette sticking with the franchise that revitalized his career after a lackluster finish in Jacksonville.
