After their trade discussions with a few teams didn’t lead to much for Leonard Fournette, the Jacksonville Jaguars are simply looking to move forward with the fourth year running back.
“There were just some minor discussions with that but nothing substantial throughout the draft or prior to the draft,” General manager Dave Caldwell said on Pro Football Talk PM podcast. “I think the mindset is that we’re going to go forward with Leonard on the team. I had a good talk with him on Friday. I know Coach Marrone has had some discussion with him. He seems to be in great shape and mental frame of mind, and we feel that he’ll have a great season this year.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report that the Jags were open to trading Fournette before the draft. When the process began, at least two teams called the Jags to inquire about the situation in the Tampa Bay Bucs and Miami Dolphins. However, the Bucs ended up drafting running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn in the third-round of the draft, while the Dolphins traded for Matt Breida.
With the Jags not having any success to ship Fournette to another team, it’s the right move to press on with him. After all, he didn’t have a bad season with them after garnering career-highs in rushing yards (1,152) and yards per carry (4.3). The only bad part about his season was the struggles to get in the end-zone, but if he fixes that and continues the production he had in 2019, keeping him will be well worth it.