The Jacksonville Jaguars recently decided to part ways with former #4 overall pick running back Leonard Fournette. The front office released him into the free-agent market after failing to find a trade partner that would take on his contract. The move came to a surprise to the Jaguars' locker room including fellow running back Chris Thompson.
“Yeah, we were shocked about it,” Thompson told reporters via virtual video conference 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 timing of his release was deemed questionable with over two weeks to go before the Jaguars' opening game against the Indianapolis Colts. After clearing waivers on Tuesday, Fournette officially becomes a free agent.
Newcomer Chris Thompson will certainly benefit from the departure of Fournette who accounted for a large part of the Jaguars offense last season. The former Florida State Seminole was brought to Jacksonville along with new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. The two go way back during their days together on the Washington Football Team.
The eight-year veteran will be looking to make the most out of the huge opportunity awaiting him and make up for the dismal performance he had at Washington last season.
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