During his stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Leonard Fournette proved to be a highly productive running back. However, it all came to a screeching halt when they released him before the 2020 season. To justify the decision, then-general manager Dave Caldwell explained that then-rookie James Robinson had made a strong impression.
Nevertheless, it was still baffling to see the Jags move on from Playoff Lenny even though he was still on his rookie deal. Fast forward to 2026, and Fournette has opened up about the reason that led to his departure from Jacksonville.
Former Jaguars OC Jay Gruden didn't want Leonard Fournette around
During the 4th and South podcast, Leonard Fournette told co-host Jarvis Landry that he didn't see eye to eye with Jay Gruden, noting that the former Jaguars offensive coordinator praised him publicly but didn't truly want him.
"People gotta understand that business, there's so many fake people, and it's so hard to find certain coaches to be real, and they do have them in there, but it is hard as hell to find them," Fournette told Landry. "And I just think based on our relationship, by me coming in that year, and yeah, I got cut, was that 2019 or 2020. Yeah, 2020. I came here, did everything right, and I think I just feel like he kind of faked it with me the whole way, meaning, 'Lenny, you're doing everything right, da da da da. You know you're the best back we got.'"
Fournette continued, "Pass protection, me going back to my old ways, running down this year, three or four, probably three, getting the ball, 40 yards, sprinting, coming back, I'm getting back in my routine like I did in college. And to do all that, and to find out afterwards, years later, that he didn't want me there. That's kind of a [expletive] situation."
In three seasons with the Jags, Fournette racked up 666 carries for 2,631 yards with 17 interceptions. Later in the sitdown, Fournette said that he would have liked to get a chance. Below is the full exchange. His remarks about Gruden start at the 24:15 mark.
Jay Gruden was one and done with the Jaguars. He was hired in 2020 to kickstart the Jaguars offense, but his unit ranked 30th in points scored and 28th in total yards. Granted, he didn't have much talent to work with. Couple that with the fact that Gardner Minshew regressed after an encouraging rookie campaign, and it's easy to see why he came up short.
That said, Gruden played a role in Jacksonville's 1-15 record that year, so he most definitely deserved to get the boot.
The Jaguars could have paired Leonard Fournette with James Robinson
While James Robinson went on to register the most yards from scrimmage in NFL history by an undrafted rookie in a season, the Jaguars would have had one of the best backfield tandems in the league if they had kept Leonard Fournette around. It may not have ultimately been enough to win more games in 2020, but it would've given Jacksonville a foundation to build around on offense.
After being released, Fournette signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played a huge role on their path to winning Super Bowl 2020, so things turned out fine for him.
Nevertheless, it's interesting to think what could have been if the Jaguars hadn't shockingly released him just before the 2020 season, and he had stuck around for a few more years.
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