After the Leonard Fournette release, the future is uncertain for the 28-year-old running back. The No. 4 pick of the 2017 NFL Draft never quite lived up to his lofty expectations, but he became a solid contributor on a Super Bowl team with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in recent years. And in that capacity, the running back still has value to contending teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars.

With that in mind, here are the four best landing spots for the running back following the Leonard Fournette release from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

4. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers need to improve the offense around Justin Herbert this offseason, and most of that is at the pass-catching positions. However, they could stand to diversify the team’s running back group as well.

There are a lot of RBs under contract for 2023 — Austin Ekeler, Josh Kelley, Isaiah Spiller, Larry Rountree III, and Zander Horvath — but most of them offer similar skill sets. Of that group, Isaiah Spiller is the closest to Leonard Fournette, but in 2022 the rookie suited up for just six games and had 41 rushing yards.

Fournette can give the Chargers a battering ram-style back who takes some of the workload off of smaller RBs Ekler and Kelley. Also, he can take short-yardage carries to take some wear and tear off Herbert in those situations.

Plus, the new Chargers offensive coordinator is Kellen Moore, who spent the last four seasons as the OC of the Dallas Cowboys. In that position, Moore used Ezekiel Elliott to pound the rock a lot, and he stuck to a pretty equal load share between Elliott and change-of-pace back Tony Pollard.

Adding Leonard Fournette to Ekeler and Kelley would create a similar situation to what Moore had in Big D.

3. Denver Broncos

The Broncos finished the 2022 season 32nd in 3rd-down conversion rate, 19th in 4th-down conversions, and 16th in red zone conversions. Not all of those are because of short-yardage situations, obviously, but getting better in that area could help the Broncos offense.

Budding star Javonte Williams went down with a season-ending ACL injury in Week 4 and will be back in 2023, but how effective will he be a year or less removed from that injury? The Broncos also have Chase Edmonds and Tyler Badie, but those are smaller backs.

Also, as much as Sean Payton like slinging the ball around the field, he enjoys pounding it up the middle when the situation allows, too. From 2013 to 2017, the Saints leading rushers were big backs Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram.

Russell Wilson is heading into a make-or-break season and having a behemoth like Leonard Fournette behind him could help out immensely. The more pressure Payton and new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi can take off of Wilson, the better he will be in 2023.

Signing the Buccaneers RB after the Leonard Fournette release would be a relatively cheap way the Broncos can do this.

2. Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is always looking for creative ways to get better and, after the Leonard Fournette release, look for the Eagles to kick the tires on the RB.

Pro Bowl RB Miles Sanders is a free agent this offseason, as is Boston Scott. Paying them what they may be able to get on the open market is something that the Eagles may not be willing to do, especially with Kenneth Gainwell still on the roster.

At this point in his career, Fournette is a part-time player and will be best as part of a rotation. Instead of paying Sanders double-digit millions to come back, re-signing Scott and bringing in Ornette would be a shrewd Eagles move.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars

After the Leonard Fournette release by the Buccaneers, the best fit for the RB would be going back to the team that drafted him, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This time around in Duval county, Fournette wouldn’t be the top-four pick savior like he was the first time around when the previous regime — led by former general manager David Caldwell — made the major mistake of taking a running back (any running back) high in the first round.

Now, he is simply another (relatively inexpensive) piece that can help with Trevor Lawrence’s development.

In 2022, Travis Etienne became the team’s no-doubt RB1, but no other back still on the roster chipped in over 200 yards on the season. Currently, Jamycal Hasty and Snoop Conner are the next two backs on the depth chart, and both are 5-foot-10 and under.

Fournette would be a great change-of-pace back to pair with Etienne, who has dealt with injuries in his career at 5-foot-10, 200 pounds. The bigger former Buccaneers running back could take the pounding Ettienne shouldn’t, which will be better for the Jaguars as a whole.