Leonard Fournette: Jaguars decline to pick up fifth-year option

The Jacksonville Jaguars have announced they will not pick up the fifth-year option on the contract of running back Leonard Fournette.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will not pick up the fifth-year option on the contract of running back Leonard Fournette,  according to Ian Rapoport and other sources. The move comes after the Jaguars’ front office openly shopped the fourth-year pro in trade talks during the NFL Draft.

The news also comes hours after the Jaguars signed free agent running back Chris Thompson, who played for offensive coordinator Jay Gruden in Washington.

For Fournette, this should not be a surprise as the relationship between the player and the team has been rocky and sometimes tumultuous during the previous three seasons while in Duval County. This week, he took to Twitter to show his commitment to playing football, that he understood this was a business first before anything else.

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The stat line for Fournette last season was solid – 1,152 yards rushing and 76 pass receptions. Both figures led the team. But it was the season before, the one where he missed eight games total for various reasons, that might have sealed his fate in Jacksonville regardless of how much he shows maturity on and off the field in 2019.

"“By declining Fournette’s option, he will be in the final year of his rookie four-year, $27.1 million contract this upcoming season. He will become an unrestricted free agent in 2021,” writes John Reid of the Florida Times-Union.“Fournette, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of LSU, is scheduled to make $4.1 million this season. By declining his fifth-year option, the Jaguars are off the hook to pay Fournette $8.48 million for 2021.”"

Jacksonville Jaguars’ general manager reportedly shopped Leonard Fournette on the second day of the Draft, looking for draft capital in return. There were no takers.

Leonard Fournette’s run-ins with the front office began as early as his first season in Jacksonville where he missed two games due to injury and one game for violating team rules. There has been speculation he has drawn the ire of people within the building at TIAA Bank Field for falling asleep in team meetings and being late on occasion.

His behavior and injury issues in 2018 were also the subject of numerous rumors once again.

"“After a season finale loss to the Houston Texans, former Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin sent out a terse statement through the franchise regarding the demeanor of Fournette and backup running back T.J. Yeldon while they were seated on the bench for nearly the entire game,” Reid added."

In 2019, Leonard Fournette came to camp rededicated and in good shape. He ran with authority and became the focal point of the team’s offense. The Jaguars finished 17th in the NFL in rushing but used their starter as a third-down option as well. He became a safety blanket for rookie Gardner Minshew in the passing game and showed leadership on the sideline.