TAMPA, Fla. — The resurgent running back, a man of myriad nicknames, said Wednesday he currently is partial to “Lombardi Lenny.”
But even now, as he prepares for his second season as a Buccaneer with a regimen that includes catching 100 passes a day, Leonard Fournette is pursuing another prominent title.
Starter.
“It’s like college,” said Fournette, whose re-signing (to a one-year deal that could reach $4 million with incentives) was formally announced by the team Wednesday morning.
“It’s a typical training camp and it’s going to be a great battle. That’s all there is to it, it’s part of football. Whatever’s going to be thrown our way, we have to face it and come out victorious.”
The most surreal season of Fournette’s football life, which included a benching followed by a breakthrough, resuscitated the 26-year-old tailback’s pro career and enhanced his market value. After totaling 448 yards and four touchdowns in the postseason, Fournette said he could have received more money elsewhere during his foray into free agency.
But he chose to re-join the franchise that he said left him humbled in 2020. “And I think it developed me as a better man, too,” he said.
As if to keep him humbled, coach Bruce Arians indicated Tuesday that the starting tailback job remains a derby featuring Fournette, fourth-year speedster Ronald Jones and second-year project Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
Moreover, Arians didn’t dismiss the possibility of drafting a running back with the 32nd overall pick.
“They all know what the system is, and the best players are going to play,” Arians said. “Obviously we have two really, really good ones at that position, and I really like Ke’Shawn Vaughn. I think with an offseason, he’s going to have a breakout year also.”
Six months ago, such rhetoric likely would have left Fournette bristling. Waived by the Jaguars (who took him with the fourth overall selection in 2017) last August, the former consensus All-American at LSU signed a one-year deal with the Bucs and ultimately grew disillusioned with his backup role.
But a heart-to-heart with Arians, and encouragement from veteran teammates such as Antonio Brown, helped him recalibrate mentally. When Jones was sidelined by injuries and a stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Fournette seized the starting opportunity and flourished, ultimately earning the nickname “Playoff Lenny” (which he attributes to Barstool Sports).
He became only the third player in NFL history to score touchdowns in four games in a single postseason. Maddeningly inconsistent as a receiver in the regular season, his yards per target soared (from 4.96 to 7.05) in the playoffs.
“When I got cut (by Jacksonville), it kind of messed me up mentally,” said Fournette, who finished the 2020 regular season with 600 total yards (including 367 rushing) and six rushing touchdowns.
“I’ve never been cut from anything in my life, so I was still getting used to that and still overcoming that. And then by me not starting, it was something else I had to overcome, not playing. So it was just back-to-back things I was going through, and like I said, a number of these guys on this team helped me get through it.”
After some brief flirtations in free agency, Fournette said he chose to re-join that support system.
Even if it leaves him humbled all over again.
“Going to camp, we’re going to have to compete,” he said.
“Nothing’s promised to anyone. I’ve been here before, I understand about competing. It’s like college, you know what I mean? And right now, we’re just training, getting our bodies right, just coming in knowing we’re going to have to start all over and compete for that starting job, and it’s going to be a great one.”
