What happens to LeSean McCoy now that the Buccaneers have Leonard Fournette?
By John Buhler
LeSean McCoy is the most affected by Leonard Fournette’s signing.
LeSean McCoy and Leonard Fournette will have to find a way to make it work.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Fournette as a free agent on Wednesday after being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier in the week. Fournette was a two-time 1,000-yard rusher in Jacksonville, but was not extended his fifth-year option this offseason and was released before playing another down. How does Fournette’s signing impact McCoy and the rest of the backs?
Do Leonard Fournette and LeSean McCoy stay Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates?
Looking at the Buccaneers’ depth chart, Fournette has emerged as Tampa Bay’s first-stringer. From top-down, it’s Fournette, McCoy, Ronald Jones II, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Dare Ogunbowale and Raymond Calais. Jones and Ogunbowale are the only running backs left from last year. Vaughn and Calais were drafted in 2020, while Fournette and McCoy signed on as free agents this season.
While some may speculate McCoy will be released upon Fournette’s arrival, the Buccaneers said they plan to keep him, for whatever that’s worth. They’ve also said Jones will remain a vibrant part of their offense. Keep in mind this team has to throw ball with Tom Brady at quarterback and with that deep receiving corps featuring Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski. So what’s up?
It is reasonable to expect the Buccaneers will dress and play at least three running backs this season, so there is a pathway forward where Fournette, Jones and McCoy all play for Tampa Bay each game this fall. With Vaughn being a third-round pick out of Vanderbilt, it’s hard to envision the Buccaneers cutting him before he even plays a down. Ogunbowale and Calais could be gone.
What we have to remember is Brady doesn’t have a cannon for a right arm anymore, far from it, in fact. That’s not to say he’s become “Captain Checkdown”, but the check-down passing philosophy worked wonders during his last several years with the New England Patriots. Because McCoy is an elite pass-catcher out of the backfield, he should be viewed as an incredibly valuable piece.
Though Fournette emerged as a viable receiving threat in his final year in Jacksonville, he was labeled as a bit of a block-handed Adrian Peterson lite coming out of LSU back in 2017. From a run it between the tackles standpoint, this is where Fournette can be theoretically used, even though he’s not nearly as good as we thought he’d be after starring in the SEC.
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Ultimately, he’ll have to earn his role on his new team, as Bruce Arians would be stupid to just hand him the starting job. McCoy is a borderline Pro Football Hall of Famer and Jones has the most experience of anyone in the running back room playing in Tampa. Though McCoy’s role will be diminished with Fournette’s signing, it won’t be as marginalized as Jones’ probably will.
While one of them could get cut, Brady likes having a healthy stable of running backs to work with.