Getty Leonard Fournette hinted at potentially re-signing with the Bucs this offseason.
Leonard Fournette went from being inactive in games to becoming a big reason why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl champions. Just a few months after passing through waivers unclaimed, Fournette is sure to get plenty of offers in free agency. If Fournette’s recent tweet is any indication, the running back is inclined to re-sign with the Bucs.
“Should we run it back @Buccaneers?????” Fournette tweeted.
The Buccaneers are in the honeymoon phase as they should be after winning a championship. Yet, the franchise faces difficult decisions including what to do with Fournette who is set to hit free agency. Fournette is not the only key Buccaneers player who is a free agent as the rusher will be joined by a number of others including Chris Godwin, Shaq Barrett, Lavonte David, Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown.
Arians Is ‘Very, Very Confident’ the Bucs Will Re-Sign Their Free Agents
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians expressed confidence that the team will be able to bring back their free agents for a chance to repeat as champions. It will be interesting to see what Fournette is able to command on the open market given the decline in running back value that appears to be happening across the league each offseason. Fournette signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Bucs after being released by the Jaguars.
“I’m very, very confident,” Arians explained, per CBS Sports. “I have all the trust in the world in (general manager) Jason (Licht) and what he would do. These guys, they have a bond. There will be dollars involved. But I think that this group is so, so close that sometimes dollars don’t matter. But we’re going to do everything we can to get the dollars right, too, because they earned it.”
Brady Texted Fournette Before the Super Bowl: ‘We Will Win’
The Buccaneers may have been underdogs in the Super Bowl, but Tom Brady had his team believing they would be the eventual champs. Fournette revealed that Brady had been texting him and other Bucs players encouraging messages prior to the Super Bowl.
“Leonard Fournette said all week long, Tom Brady was texting everyone at 11:00 at night saying, ‘We WILL win,'” ESPN’s Jenna Laine tweeted.
Brady is a key reason why Fournette signed with Tampa Bay despite having other suitors when he was released by Jacksonville prior to Week 1. This offseason will be worth watching to see if Brady can work his recruiting magic again now that Fournette’s value is much higher given his play in the postseason. Earlier in the playoffs, Fournette revealed Brady’s recruiting pitch that landed him with the Bucs.
“The first guy that hit me when it happened was Tom [Brady],” Fournette noted prior to the Bucs’ Divisional Round win over the Saints, per USA Today. “I’ve [known] Tom and Tom hit me like, ‘Man, I would love for you to come help us out.’ And the first thing – who wouldn’t want to play with Tom? Now that I’m here, I’ve just surrounded myself with a great group of people – Chris [Godwin], Mike [Evans], Cap (Alex Cappa), Ryan [Jensen] – a lot of those guys I didn’t know at first. I love it here, to be honest. We have a brotherhood. It’s going fine right now. We’re working our tails off each and every day to make each other better and that’s what we’re doing. That’s the best thing about football, is the unity.”
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