During his time in Jacksonville, the one thing we learned about RB Leonard Fournette is he liked to have fun, and he told the Jacksonville media this back in August:
“Most of you guys know I’m always joking and playing, that’s just me,” Fournette said. “I think it kind of got out of hand, so I just wanted to get that out there. I’m not a jerk, but when it comes to football and winning, I’m all in for that.”
So, when Fournette told the team that he had been released on Monday, according to Jaguars RB Chris Thompson, no one believed him.
“Yeah, we were shocked about it,” Thompson said about Fournette getting released via a video call on Tuesday. “He came in the room a couple of minutes before our team meeting and let us know that he had gotten released. We didn’t believe it. We thought he was joking because, you know, he laughs and jokes with us all the time. It wasn’t really until [Head] Coach [Doug] Marrone said it in the team meeting that we really believed it. It was a shocker for everybody. The mood was just different that day, or different yesterday at practice, but you know, it’s the NFL, and we just have to rock with the decision that’s being made.”
No Fournette means opportunities for others, including the seventh-year veteran Thompson, Ryquell Armstead, Devine Ozigbo, Nathan Cottrell, and James Robinson. On Tuesday, Thompson, who spent time in OC Jay Gruden’s offense while in Washington, assessed Jacksonville’s running back room.
“In my opinion, I think they can do a little bit of everything,” he said. “They’re good pass catchers. They can run routes pretty good, and their vision is amazing, especially James [Robinson]. I think he’s one of those guys to me, in my opinion, [that] probably has the best vision out of all of us and it’s been great to see a young guy like that be able to come in and be able to make the plays and hit the holes that he’s been able to hit. I’m excited. I’m excited for all [of] the guys. Nate [Nathan Cottrell], he’s the fastest running back that we have right now, so I’m excited for him and his future. Ryquell [Armstead] and Zig [Devine Ozigbo], they’re both guys that were here last year and now with Leonard [Fournette] not being here, they’re going to be able to get a lot more opportunities. From what I saw, from what Rock [Ryquell Armstead] did last year and Zig, especially in that last game against the Colts, I think they have a lot of potential [that] we’re going to see here moving forward.”
Running backs coach Terry Robiskie added this about the team’s running backs: “It looks young, it looks young. It looks energetic, it looks like a bunch of fresh guys, just a bunch of big-eyed guys that [are] looking at the goal, [they] just want an opportunity, they want an opportunity. I think they feel the opportunity is there. A group of guys that [are] ready to go meet the challenge, go prove themselves. Like I said, everybody in life wants an opportunity. I’ve got a group of guys that [have] got a shot, they’ve got an opportunity here and it’s right before them.”
The release of Fournette was surprising, but it was not very shocking. Jacksonville had been looking to trade Fournette for some time, but the timing surprised many, and now it’s up to others to make things happen without Fournette.
Leave a Reply