Getty Leonard Fournette warms up before a Buffalo Bills game.
As the Buffalo Bills take the field to host the Pittsburgh Steelers in a wild-card game on Monday, Playoff Lenny will be forced to watch from the bench.
The Bills announced on January 14 that two players would be elevated from the practice squad, wide receiver Andy Isabella and linebacker A.J. Klein. Running back Leonard Fournette, who came to the team in late October but has seen little action since then, remained on the practice squad and won’t be playing against the Steelers.
We’ve elevated WR Andy Isabella and LB A.J. Klein from the practice squad for tomorrow’s game. #PITvsBUF
As one insider explained, it was a numbers game that added up to the wrong equation for Fournette this week.
Leonard Fournette Squeezed Out
Soon after the Bills signed Fournette on October 30, head coach Sean McDermott gave indications that he could soon be joining the active roster. Fournette was signed after veteran back Damien Harris was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury and expected to provide a veteran presence in the backfield.
But the Bills instead moved running back Ty Johnson from the practice squad to the active roster, and he established himself as the No. 2 behind second-year back James Cook. Johnson rushed for 132 yards, adding 63 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, while Fournette remained on the practice squad until Johnson was injured.
Fournette had little impact on offense when he did play this season, carrying the ball 12 times for 40 yards.
As Bills reporter Chris Brown noted, Johnson appears in line to return after suffering a head injury in the January 7 win over the Miami Dolphins, which squeezed out Fournette.
“The #Bills elevated WR Andy Isabella and LB A.J. Klein from the practice squad for tomorrow’s game vs Pittsburgh,” Brown wrote on X. “With RB Leonard Fournette not elevated this means Ty Johnson is good to assume his normal role as he returns from a concussion.”
Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 added that Klein’s elevation may mean that the Bills have another injury at linebacker, leaving even less room on the roster for Fournette.
“This means RB Leonard Fournette was NOT elevated. Could be an indication about Tyrel Dodson’s availability,” Capaccio wrote on X.
Playoff Lenny’s Postseason Success
As Chrissy Froyd of the Sporting News noted, Fournette earned the nickname “Playoff Lenny” after a string of postseason successes with both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Fournette rushed for 242 yards with four touchdowns in three playoff games with the Jaguars in the 2017-18 season,” Froyd wrote. “His next postseason appearance came in 2020-21 with the Bucs, when he totaled 448 total yards and four TDs in four games, including 135 total yards and a TD in Tampa’s 31-9 Super Bowl win over the Chiefs. That season, his yards per carry jumped from 3.8 in the regular season to 4.7 in the playoffs.”
The Bills may need to rely heavily on the running game in Monday’s matchup against the Steelers. The game was pushed back a day by a dangerous winter storm that dumped several feet of snow and brought fierce wind to the region, and the conditions are still expected to be difficult by the time the game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. ET.