Leonard

Fournette

The signing of Brightwell presumably ends any chances of Leonard Fournette landing in Cincinnati. Brightwell is a four-year veteran of the league who has a rushing line of 41-164-1. He has also caught 11 passes for 92 yards. Brightwell will start on the Bengals’ practice squad with a chance to be elevated in the coming days/weeks. This signing doesn’t move the needle from a fantasy perspective.

Fournette’s missed almost two full years of regular season football. The veteran running back joined the Bills’ practice squad in October of last season but played in only two games. He rushed 12 times for 40 scoreless yards in those games and was not in training camp this offseason. The Colts met with Fournette before the start of the season but opted against signing him. The Bengals placed Zack Moss (neck) on injured reserve last week, and made a deadline trade with the Bears to acquire Khalil Herbert. Clearly still interested in upgrading their backfield, they’ll see if Fournette can find a way to fit on the roster, should they opt to sign him.

It makes sense from the perspective that the Colts have terrifyingly little depth behind workhorse starter Jonathan Taylor. It makes less sense in that 29-year-old Fournette doesn’t seem to have much left to give at this point. Even so, he could be an upgrade on Trey Sermon if he signs. Fournette would be a weak contingency back undoubtedly ticketed for a committee were he to end up in Indy and Taylor went down with injury.

Per Schefter, Fournette has also re-hired his agent as he continues to look for a home in the NFL. His agent, Ari Nissim, told Schefter, “Leonard’s in the best shape of his career and I expect he will have a new home soon.” Fournette signed with the Bills in the middle of the 2023 season but didn’t see much action. He totaled 12 carries for 40 yards and was released before the end of the postseason. Fournette’s experience may allow him to land a gig as a depth option, but his days as a fantasy-relevant player appear to be over.

While Fournette signed to the Bills in late October, he didn’t make his Bills’ debut until Week 16. When Fournette did play, he was seldomly used as the team preferred Ty Johnson to play behind James Cook. Fournette now finds himself once again as a free agent.

In his first action of the season, Fournette not only returned kicks but seemed to step in for Latavius Murray as the red zone complement to James Cook. Considering Lenny is 6’0” and 230 pounds, it’s a role that makes sense, and he looked better than Murray has this season in that role. However, Ty Johnson, who was out with shoulder injury, should be back next week and has looked good this season, so Fournette may need to convince the coaching staff that he’s a better option than Murray down the stretch. He did play more snaps than Murray and even lined up out wide as a receiver, but getting stuffed at the one yard line in the third quarter may not have helped.

This will be the first action for Fournette in 2023 after signing with the Bills’ practice squad in October. While the Bills have not listed their inactives yet, RB Ty Johnson has been on the injury list all week, so it seems likely that Fournette would take Johnson’s place in the running back rotation behind starter James Cook. The bigger question is whether or not the Bills give Fournette some carries in short yardage situations to see if he can be more effective than Latavius Murray has been this season. Still, James Cook’s fantasy managers likely have nothing to worry about here.

It remains to be seen whether Fournette, 28, will be active for Week 9 against the Bengals. Last year with the Bucs, Fournette totaled 1,191 yards and six touchdowns as Tampa’s lead back. He could take Latavius Murray’s role in the Buffalo offense and could threaten James Cook’s pass-game involvement if he earns the trust of the team’s coaches. Fournette should be stashed in most 12-team fantasy leagues.

According to Schultz, the source relaying this information is Fournette himself. The veteran running back had been linked to the Bills earlier this month, but reports of him visiting with the team never came to fruition. Fournette totaled 1,191 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns with the Buccaneers last season and was a PPR machine playing alongside Tom Brady from over the last three season. It will be interesting to see how the Bills plan to deploy Fournette, who would presumably start as a short-yardage/goal line back with a chance to grow into a larger role if he plays well. His arrival stands to hurt the overall upside of James Cook, whose usage has frustrated fantasy managers through the first eight weeks.

It was reported on Monday night that Fournette was scheduled to meet with the Bills on Tuesday. That trip is now not expected to happen, despite Fournette reportedly being “in great shape” and ready to help a team later in the season. Damien Harris exited the Bills’ Week 6 matchup against the Giants with a neck injury and concussion, but nothing about his injuries suggested another back would be needed to replace him in the short or long term. Fournette’s name will almost certainly pop up on the rumor mill later in the season, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be joining a team this week.