Jaguars cut star running back Fournette
The Jaguars moved another step closer to purging Tom Coughlin’s tumultuous tenure in Jacksonville.
The team waived running back Leonard Fournette on Monday, a stunning decision many outsiders view as the latest in a series of head scratchers that could help the franchise tank the season and get the No. 1 draft pick.
“If that’s the case, then the realization is if that happens, then I’m not going to be here,” coach Doug Marrone said. “At the end of the day, if I don’t win enough games or do enough with this team, I don’t foresee me still being employed.” Coughlin wanted Fournette as the centerpiece of his old-school, run-first philosophy. It worked in 2017, although it became clear that Fournette needed to be a better pro. He was fined repeatedly for being late and skipping mandatory functions.
The Jaguars spent months trying to trade Fournette, the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft who’s coming off a career year. He was on the block during the NFL draft and again over the summer.
“We couldn’t get anything, a fifth, a sixth, anything,” Marrone said.
So they dumped the 25-year-old former LSU star one day after trading former Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to Minnesota in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2021 and a conditional fifth-rounder in 2020. Jacksonville also traded Jalen Ramsey, fellow cornerback A.J. Bouye and defensive end Calais Campbell in the last 10 months.
Still, no one expected Jacksonville to part ways with Fournette less than two weeks before the opener.
He is due $4.17 million in guaranteed salary this season if someone claims him. If he clears waivers, he would become a free agent.
Tretter wants daily testing: NFL Players Association President J.C. Tretter is pushing for daily COVID-19 testing during the regular season.
The NFL has been conducting daily testing for players throughout training camp and plans to do so through Saturday.
“In the spirit of adaptability, expect the NFLPA to push for modifications or updated recommendations – such as the continuation of daily testing – as the season progresses and new information becomes available,” said Tretter, the starting center for Cleveland.