The Jaguars are releasing running back Leonard Fournette, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone has also officially confirmed the move, which will place the former No. 4 overall pick on the waiver wire. 
“At the end of the day, I’ve got to be able to field a team that gives us the best chance to win,” Marrone said (Twitter link via John Oehser of the team website).
Fournette is scheduled to earn $4.1MM in fully guaranteed base salary this season. His contract contains no offset language, so the Jaguars will be off the hook if another club claims him. The Jags declined Fournette’s pick’s fifth-year option, so he has just one year to go on his deal.
Although Fournette totaled a career-high 1,674 yards from scrimmage last season, opinions are split on Fournette’s effectiveness. This year, the Jaguars hired a new OC in Jay Gruden, and they decided to take the running game in a different direction. Jacksonville signed former Gruden passing-down back Chris Thompson, who is now set to take on an even larger role. He’s backstopped by Ryquell Armstead, a 2019 fifth-rounder who averaged just 3.1 yards per carry as a rookie.
The Jaguars tried to get something in exchange for Fournette, but they didn’t find much trade interest. The former LSU running back enjoyed an up-and-down tenure in Jacksonville. He posted two 1,000-yard seasons but also missed eight games in 2018 — a year in which he averaged just 54.9 yards per game — due to injury and suspension.
Fournette was the first running back chosen in 2017. The Jags used their top pick in that draft on him, passing on both Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes despite Blake Bortles‘ struggles.
Eagles need to be all over that.
Kansas City could be scarier if he went there.
dude the eagles have 1000 running backs lol.
But how many will be healthy week 4?
And none of them are good except Sanders. Why were the Eagles mentioned as a candidate for Freeman, Hyde, etc earlier this offseason if they didn’t need an upgrade?
Way more pressing needs right now along the OL.
If he can stay healthy and stop being a cancer in the locker room, he could be premier back. Maybe getting off Jax will solve both.
Tha’ts a couple big “if’s”
Cancer is a pretty strong word for Fournette.
Jay Gruden the same guy who benched Adrian Peterson let that sink in for a minute.
To be fair, Guice was a second round pick. I think it’s reasonable to bench an aging veteran to experiment with a high draft pick when you’re playing for the future. Derrius was undoubtedly talented, he was just an idiot off the field and couldn’t stay healthy
Bills
Ugh! This really screws up fantasy lol…
How… He isn’t dependable!
Because he goes from potentially receiving 85% of all carries to signing with a new team and learning a completely foreign offense. Once integrated, he’ll likely be reduced to a timeshare. Thus, if you already drafted for fantasy, this could be a crippling transaction
I’ve never understood why commissioners of fantasy leagues draft early. I don’t hold my draft until the weekend before the first game of the season. You never know who’s going to get hurt, released, traded, etc and how that will affect fantasy.
Because it’s hard to get all the owners together and Labor Day weekend lots of families go out of town . That is why my league drafted yesterday .
If you wanted Fournette you have bigger problems then the day of your draft
I guess it just depends on who the owners are. Last year the only owner that couldn’t make the draft in my league lived in a different continent.
The Redskins might be his best bet on paper to playing time since they released Guice. Maybe the Eagles could use a compliment to Sanders like they had with Blount Howard and Ajayi
The Bears would be as well, given that Montgomery is out with a groin injury and isn’t a bellcow back even when healthy
Go play with the Vikings……Let Cook know he doesn’t hold all the cards.
So you want to spend $4.5m on a player to show the other player that you’re not gonna pay him what he wants?
Don’t quit your day job.
While I doubt that this happens or is a good course of action, $4.5 million is actually a lot less than Dalvin Cook wants to be paid.
Bears need to claim him.
Not as bad as Pace passing on Watson and Mahomes to draft Trubisky. One of the great whiffs in draft history.
Probably go to New England and the Super Bowl.
Because Bellichek!
Rams
Now there’s no excuse not to fire Marone and start fresh.
dumpster fire
What the hell is going on in Jacksonville? It seems as if you’re good, they get rid of you? While I initially liked the Marrone hiring I am now just so perplexed by his actions. Within the past year he’s gotten rid of an all-pro CB, one of the best pass rushers in the league and now a very good RB on a fairly cheap last year of his contract, who will garner interest around the league. Had they kept him this year and let him walk next year in FA they would have received a comp pick for him. Now they get nothing. Also, they let the other players in the building know they aren’t serious about winning. SMH
I just don’t understand how they couldn’t get anything back via trade. It’s not as though he doesn’t have talent. Even a late draft pick in the fourth or fifth round would’ve been better than nothing. Marrone is definitely playing favorites and it’s fairly concerning just how toxic the organization has become. They need to dismantle the foundation and completely start over from the ground up
The Jags are a joke. Draft Fournette with a high pick only to cut him for nothing even though he has shown some good. Have great stud cornerback only to have him want to leave. Have a great defensive end who wants a contract extension demand a trade and barely get anything for him. Then he immediately is happy to take a pay cut with his new team. Sign Nick Foles to that money only to trade him.
No wonder this team can’t be consistently good. People can say a bunch of them might be “cancers”, but if your locker room is filled with people like that the only reasons are that their team culture, management, and coaching sucks or you are a terrible evaluator of character and team chemistry. Khan should sell the team.
This is….stupid. Just flat out stupid. Between the Texans and Jaguars, I’ve seen the most numbingly braindead personnel decisions I have ever witnessed. Oh, yeah, sure, just straight up cut your starting running back who isn’t even off his rookie deal and is likely to give you 1000 yards to save $4 million. Trade him? Nah. I mean, it’s not like that’s a valuable piece of your football team or anything, totally not worth keeping, even if you “didn’t hear anything back” from another team. Sure, believable, you had no choice but to release your starter because you just didn’t like him. What is this, Madden?
The Jags REALLY want Trevor Lawrence…not sure who they’ll have to play with him, but dammit, they sure do want him…
Doesn’t even save them the $4M, that money was already guaranteed. No cap savings at all if he clears waivers as they also didn’t have offset language in his rookie deal.
I’m pretty sure they attempted to void the guarantees from a 2018 suspension. A grievance was filed, but was basically on hold because it wouldn’t matter if he played the full season. Obviously now they will proceed, but Jags could actually get out of that whole 4 million if they win.
Thanks, I forgot that it was guaranteed. The Jags’ case for voiding them seems a bit weak to me-Fournette was fined a few times and the suspension was for coming off the bench during a game fight, if I remember correctly. It didn’t seem like enough to me to void that $4 million number. Which, let me just reiterate, is a minuscule amount of cap savings, especially now that you’ll need a new starting runningback (oh, and your starting quarterback does not even have a full season of experience yet).
It’s one thing to clean house, it’s another to not get any returns for your furniture.
Rams have been the destination for disgruntled Jaguars. There is a need there at RB as well.
KHAN!!!!!
Cher Khan has made better decisions than this
Name of the post: Ryquell Armstead
Any chance Trevor Lawrence pulls an Eli Manning and says he refuses to play for Jacksonville
I sincerely hope so
Crazy idea
Alvin Kamara apparently has been away from the team the past 3 days and they believe it is contract related.
Leonard Fournette is born and raised in New Orleans, having attended high school and everything.
How about the Saints sign Fournette and pair him with Kamara, similarly to how Kamara and Ingram use to work really well together Kamara and Fournette could be a great duo. From the saints perspective it could be interesting and could lower Kamaras price and if it doesn’t lower his price and the Saints can’t agree with him then they have an able and ready replacement.
With Drew Brees likely to retire next season you’d be giving Jameis Winston or whoever the Saints go after 2 really talented RBs, 2 really talented WRs and a very talented TE.
Well, the money is a big limiting factor in that, but the concept is solid. I’m not sure New Orleans can make that work under the cap, but last year it was painfully obvious that Murray was not the option that Ingram was between the tackles. Kamara’s play suffered without a between the tackles runner to help set him up. Fournette, like Ingram, can catch passes as well as run between the tackles, which benefitted the Saints immensely during Ingram’s tenure there.
Of course, with an expensive backup in Winston and the ridiculous deal the Saints gave to Peat, the money is a bit tight. Kamara picked a really terrible time to hold out in what is likely Brees’ last year and his best chance to win a ring. The Saints will have to work some magic to fit in Fournette AND retain Kamara, even with the assumption that they release Murray. Play-wise, however, this is an interesting fit.
That’s exactly what I thought in terms of play style. Fournette in college was an athletic freak and I think in the right environment could refund his old form but if not he’s still a Ingram type RB who can run through tackles and can also catch.
I think from Fournettes perspective, if he was to take a pay cut this would be the team he would do it for.
1. It’s his home (New Orleans)
2. They have a great QB and Coaches
3. They could possibly win a Super Bowl
4. With Kamara possibly holding out/leaving it could pave the way for him to stay
I think the if the saints and Fournette could make something happen at about 4mil a season then you’d have a great deal for both parties
The juggernaut Chicago Bears won’t even be interested in Fournette. Just yesterday the Bears signed running back Napoleon Maxwell, whoever he is!
Rams and Steelers could both use him!
Steelers, because you know JC will get hurt
Rams, 9ers, tampa, Seattle,