Running back Leonard Fournette has signed his rookie contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
According to the Associated Press, the fourth overall pick in last month’s NFL draft signed a four-year deal Wednesday. According to the NFL’s rookie salary system, the deal is worth more than $27 million and includes an $18 million signing bonus. The fully guaranteed deal includes a team option for a fifth year. The Jacksonville Jaguars are hoping Fournette can help solve the team’s paltry rushing attack. One that has plagued them the past few years.
The Jacksonville Jaguars brass is happy to be signing Fournette. He becomes the first player selected in the top five of this year’s NFL Draft to ink a deal. According to sources, there was no offsetting language in the deal, which may have helped the two sides come to an agreement early before OTA’s and training camp.
Fournette ran for 3,830 yards in three years with the LSU Tigers. He averaged 6.2 yards a carry while scoring 42 touchdowns. He also set or tied 23 different school records during his college career.
Leonard Fournette will continue to focus on running the football and helping the Jacksonville Jaguars win. Seeing that this is something that hasn’t happened too often in the past decade.
“Money is money, but at the end of the day, you come here to win. You come here to get better, to make the team better and make the whole foundation better. That is my main focus,” he said.
The one thing that will be different is the Jaguars’ use of a fullback this season. Fournette played in a single-eye formation most of the time at LSU. However, he did tell local media over the weekend he spent time in practice in college with a back in front of him. The Jacksonville Jaguars should also ask him to catch the ball more out of the backfield.
Fournette said he was ready for that as well.
Jacksonville drafted Leonard Fournette not only to help the running game but to take some of the burden of the offense off quarterback Blake Bortles. Bortles, who was sacked 34 times in 2016 and has thrown 34 interceptions the past two seasons for the Jaguars.