Fournette takes over backfield

Buccaneers RB Leonard Fournette dominated the backfield work in Sunday night's OT win over the Cardinals. He carried 20 times for 72 yards, vs. just 7-36 rushing for RB Rachaad White. Fournette also caught a team-high 9 passes for a team-high 90 yards, tying WR Chris Godwin for the target lead at 10. White caught all 4 of his targets for 17 yards, including the team's lone offensive TD. Fournette played 20 more snaps than White and will be the better bet among Bucs RBs for a Week 17 home date with the Panthers.

The Bucs plan to release RB Leonard Fournette on March 15, the first day of the new league year, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports. The move will save the rebuilding Bucs $3.47 million against the 2023 salary cap. Fournette remained reliable in the passing game last year, hauling in 73 of 83 targets for 523 yards (7.2 YPC). But he mustered just 3.5 yards per carry and ranked bottom 4 among 51 qualifiers in both Pro Football Focus' Elusive Rating and NFL Next Gen Stats' Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt. The 28-year-old figures to land a committee job on the open market and isn't an exciting pick in early best-ball drafts. The Bucs, meanwhile, are left with RB Rachaad White atop the depth chart for now. He caught 50 balls as a rookie last year but averaged just 5.8 yards per catch. White was only a little better than Fournette on the ground, averaging 3.7 yards per carry while ranking 41st in Elusive Rating and 45th in Rush Yards Over Expected Per Attempt. We'll see what else the Bucs add to the backfield this offseason.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette said in a since-deleted tweet that he's been playing through a Lisfranc injury. Fournette was on the injury report with a foot in Week 14 but hasn't been listed the past 2 weeks. And he just went for 162 total yards on 29 touches in Sunday night's win over the Cardinals. We'll keep an eye on Fournette this week, but it doesn't seem like this foot issue will impact his role in Week 17.

Buccaneers RB Leonard Fournette carried the ball 11 times for 44 yards on top of hauling in 4 receptions for 30 yards in Sunday's loss to the Bengals. Rookie Rachaad White split the workload with Fournette in Week 15, logging 11 carries for 38 yards and a single catch for 5 yards. Neither Fournette nor White had particularly effective fantasy games as the Buccanners offense fell apart in the second half. However, managers should feel good about a Week 16 showdown against a Cardinals defense that ranks 6th in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs this season. Both Bucs backs should be in RB2/flex consideration next week, with the edge going to Fournette.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette is not listed on the Week 15 injury report. He was added with a foot issue last Thursday and then did not practice on Friday before mustering just 46 total yards on 10 touches in the loss to the 49ers. Fournette still has RB Rachaad White to contend with, but health shouldn't be a factor vs. the Bengals this weekend.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette (foot) is active for today’s game vs. the 49ers. He was added to the injury report and limited on Thursday and then did not practice on Friday. HC Todd Bowles never expressed much concern about Fournette’s availability for this one, but there’s still elevated risk here.