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LSU Tigers product and former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette is set to open the 2020 NFL season from inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, playing against his hometown New Orleans Saints as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Fournette, a free agent, reached an agreement with the Buccaneers late Wednesday evening on a one-year contract after weighing offers from several teams.
Fournette joins a backfield also featuring second-year pro Ronald Jones, rookie draft pick Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and LeSean McCoy, the latest past-his-prime star to team up with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay. How the running back rotation may shake out is anyone’s guess, but it’s hard to believe the Buccaneers moved so quickly to acquire Fournette only to keep him on the sidelines in Week 1.
If he does play against the Saints in the 2020 season opener, this will be Fournette’s first game in the Superdome at any level of football. He didn’t make the trip from Baton Rouge with LSU in college, and came up just short of a high school championship game in the Superdome while starring at St. Augustine in New Orleans.
Fournette played against the Saints for the first time in his NFL career last season, hosting them in Jacksonville. He was limited to 72 rushing yards on 20 attempts (3.6 yards per carry) but did catch all 6 of his targets in the passing game, gaining 46 receiving yards in a 13-6 loss.
He’ll have a shot at payback in just 10 days, but the Saints defense has shown before they’re up to the task of containing him. The challenge just may be slightly more difficult this time with Brady throwing to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. That sort of threat could be distracting.
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