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The Jacksonville Jaguars currently hold 12 draft selections in 2020, and the team apparently isn’t done adding picks. As the Jaguars continue their aggressive rebuilding process, they have reportedly engaged in trade discussions with multiple teams regarding running back Leonard Fournette.
Fournette, 25, still has two years left on his contract (including a fifth-year option in 2021) and is set to earn $4.17 million in base salary this season. After missing eight games in 2018, the 2017 fourth overall pick amassed 1,152 yards and three touchdowns on the ground last season. He also posted 76 catches for 522 yards.
With Fournette reportedly on the trade block, here’s a list of teams that could make the most by adding the running back.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers haven’t had a reliable running game in what feels like forever. Tampa Bay racked up just 3.7 yards per carry in 2019, which was tied for the second-worst mark in the NFL, and the team has now finished with under four yards per rushing attempt since 2016.
Ronald Jones was expected to be a problem-solver for the team, but the 2018 second-round pick hasn’t matched expectations yet. Though Jones started the team’s last nine games a year ago after a disastrous rookie campaign, he topped 100 yards only once and amassed just 410 yards over that span.
The addition of Tom Brady gives the Bucs Super Bowl aspirations, but with the quarterback turning 43 years old this season, the clock is already ticking for Tampa Bay to give everything it can to support the six-time champion. Fournette would be an immediate solution for this subpar running attack.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are one of only two teams to amass at least 1,000 rushing attempts in the last two seasons combined, which means backfield depth is crucial. Seattle also particularly likes powerful running backs who are strong enough to run through defenders, just like Fournette.
Pete Carroll currently has Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny as options, but both of them carry questions after 2019. Carson has battled injuries in every campaign of his short three-year career and he’s entering the last season of his contract, while Penny is recovering from a torn ACL and offers little contribution to the passing game.
Playing without both Carson and Penny in the playoffs – as exciting as the Marshawn Lynch experiment was – showed Seattle can’t minimize its efforts at the position moving forward.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills have made aggressive, smart decisions year after year since Brandon Beane was named general manager in 2017. However, Buffalo hasn’t addressed the running back position this offseason, and veteran Frank Gore didn’t re-sign after leading the team in rushing attempts.
Devin Singletary showed promise as a rookie and posted 5.1 yards per carry through 12 regular-season appearances. But without Gore, Singletary is basically the Bills’ only RB option right now.
Fournette would complement Buffalo’s backfield well, leaving Singletary in his No. 2 role while adding another undeniable talented weapon to Josh Allen‘s offense.
Kansas City Chiefs
How fun would this be? Patrick Mahomes and his explosive receiving weapons adding a running back of Fournette’s caliber would essentially create unstoppable matchups for this offense.
Kansas City’s average of 98.1 rushing yards per game ranked just 23rd last season, and Damien Williams led the team on the ground despite amassing only 111 attempts and 498 yards.
Due to their quarterback situation, the Chiefs can afford not to have an elite running game, but winning the trenches has always been ideal and Fournette could definitely help Kansas City achieve that. Williams and Fournette would create a great three-down, two-way combination.
If the Chiefs decide to pursue Fournette, they would need to restructure a few contracts to open immediate cap space. Signing a long-term deal with franchise-tagged defensive tackle Chris Jones might be the solution.
Detroit Lions
Though the Lions invested a second-round pick in Kerryon Johnson two years ago, their running game issues appear far from over. When healthy, Johnson has had his moments, but he’s now played in just 18 games since 2018 due to various injuries.
Despite missing half of the season in 2019, Johnson still led Detroit in carries (113), rushing yards (403), and touchdowns (three). In his absence, second-year Bo Scarbrough stepped up as the starting runner, but not necessarily enough to make this duo a reliable one.
Granted, Fournette has had injury issues of his own. But he’d still be a more reliable option for the Lions, who could line up a mouthwatering combination in the backfield with Johnson. That’s an ideal scenario for a team that needs to win right now.
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DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
