The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are rolling with the “you can never have too much talent” philosophy after signing another running back in former fourth-overall pick Leonard Fournette this week.
Fournette, 25, who was waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars and went unclaimed on waivers, gives Tampa Bay an embarrassment of riches at running back.
Aside from Fournette, the team still has incoming third-year rusher Ronald Jones and veteran LeSean McCoy. But Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians made the assurance that despite Fournette’s arrival, he remains the team’s starter at the position. Greg Auman of The Athletic reports that Arians clarified that nothing has changed for Jones, who finished his second season in the league with 172 carries for 724 rushing yards and six touchdowns while averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
"It's his job. Nothing's changed for him," Arians says of Ronald Jones, saying the rest are working for roles and injury insurance.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 3, 2020
ESPN’s Jenna Laine, meanwhile, reports that Arians has received good feedback from other coaches about Fournette, which is why the team took a chance on him after three years at Jacksonville. But while the Bucs’ 67-year-old mentor did not specify the role that he has for Fournette, he was clearer in identifying Jones’ role for the team in the upcoming season.
“But [Jones is] our guy, Shady's ready for his role, so it's just gonna be building roles as we go along and having enough quality players to finish this thing,” Arians said.
Jones is not known as a pass-catching running back in his two seasons in Tampa Bay, and some have seen the team’s acquisition of Fournette as an indication that they are willing to try other options at the position, but Arians’ words make it clear that the team’s new running back is merely an immensely talented insurance policy, and that Jones is still very much an important part of their offense in Tom Brady’s first year under center for the Buccaneers.
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