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Poking fun at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ biggest foible in Week 10 didn’t stop with quarterback Tom Brady.
Running back Leonard Fournette, who threw an interception on the failed trick play, also made fun of the incident on social media. Fournette’s errant pass to a slipping Brady for an interception ultimately didn’t cost the Bucs in a 21-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, November 13.
“QB2,” Fournette tweeted.
Brady notably didn’t want Fournette to throw that time around.
“I wasn’t very close today unfortunately. That corner is a former college receiver who jumps a lot higher than me and is much more athletic,” Brady told reporters on Sunday. “I was hoping to be wide open, and I probably was on the first one, and I think they were pretty clued in on the second one.”
“They said, ‘cover him, cover him’, and I was on the sideline and I tried to yell, ‘Lenny, no’, but I was too late, and the ball went up in the air, and I was trying to, whatever, jump up and knock it down, but I ended up falling on my face,” Brady added.
Bucs Get Conflicting Updates on Fournette
Fournette didn’t finish the game on Sunday due to a hip pointer injury, but his return looks possible for Week 12 against the Cleveland Browns after the bye week.
He “is likely to be ready” according to sources via ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles didn’t confirm that report when he talked with reporters on Monday, November 14.
“It’s too early to tell right now,” Bowles said. “We’ll get the treatment [for Fournette], and we’ll re-evaluate it next week.”
Fournette left the Seahawks game on Sunday, November 13, during the second half, and the Bucs listed him as questionable for returning. He finished with 14 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown, his second rushing touchdown in three weeks.
Tampa Bay made due without Fournette in the fourth quarter when rookie running back Rachaad White gashed the Seahawks defense. White’s runs of 12 and 18 yards on the final drive of the game sealed the win. He ran for 105 yards on 22 carries amid his first career start.
“We have different packages for guys, and we just started out with that package,” Bowles said about White’s start. “It was a change of pace package that we started out with, and the plays we had scheduled for Rachaad, that happened to be one of the plays we had scheduled for him, so that’s how we came out the game.”
Fournette Nearly Missed the Game
The Bucs nearly played without Fournette in Germany due to a passport issue.
Fournette needed a replacement passport, and he almost didn’t receive it via mail in time for the team’s flight to Germany according to sources via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. Weather amid the arrival of tropical storm Nicole contributed to the mail delays. The passport “arrived around noon ET on Thursday, just hours before the Bucs’ plane departed” and Fournette made the team’s flight according to Rapoport and Pelissero.
Tampa Bay’s leading rusher and third-leading receiver, Fournette’s absence could have left a significant hole in the offense against the Seahawks. While White had emerged on offense in recent weeks, he only had 48 carries and 20 receptions in his young career going into the Seattle game.
The Bucs invested in Fournette this past offseason with a three-year deal worth $21 million per Spotrac.
Logan Ryan to Return Soon?
Besides Fournette, the Bucs may get safety Logan Ryan back on the field in Week 12. Ryan injured his foot in Week 4 and hasn’t played since.
“It’s possible, but I doubt it right now,” Bowles said. “I haven’t seen him running yet. It’s way too early to say he’ll be back right now. We’ll just wait and see as it goes.”
The Bucs signed Ryan to a $1.2 million contract, per Spotrac, as a free agent in the offseason. He has 19 interceptions, 15 forced fumbles and 13 sacks in his career. Ryan tallied an interception, forced fumble, and nine tackles through the first four games of the season.
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