Devin White: Leonard Fournette “Energy” Was “Needed”
March 21st, 2021
Leonard Fournette
Imagine Tom Brady running your team’s show at quarterback through training camp and still believing the locker room, also infused with Rob Gronkowski, is lacking some juice.
It’s hard to believe, but that’s what Devin White confidently told ESPN Radio in Baton Rouge.
Per White, his LSU buddy, Leonard “Playoff Lenny” Fournette, was a missing piece to the Tampa Bay locker room culture.
“I swear that boy [Fournette] got on my nerves every day in the locker room, always joking like we were still kids,” White said with a smile. “He brought an energy into the locker room that was needed, as well, man. He’s the ultimate teammate; he’s going to joke all day, he’s going to grind on the practice field, and you know what he’s going to give you in the playoffs and the Super Bowl.”
Fournette hit the Bucs’ practice field for the first time around Labor Day. Then six weeks later came Antonio Brown, who changed White’s football life.
Both Brown and Fournette remain free agents. If you buy what White is selling, then it’s probably a great idea to re-sign at least one of them.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:06 am
I don’t see how Licht can sign both. But what a coup (imo) if he does!
March 21st, 2021 at 11:08 am
I’m alll for that at the right price. Bucs are in the driver’s seat. But first get Suh on board.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:17 am
AB over Lenny. There will be an elite RB when we draft at 32. That RB will be cheaper and most likely have better hands.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:31 am
Lenny over AB here for sure. We have young talent at wr. Jones hasnt proven he can play a 16 game schedule at a high level consistently.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:40 am
There’s basic stats, and there’s that certain “thing” a player has that’s irreplaceable to the overall team. Dan Driessan was a good first baseman, but shoving Tony Perez aside killed that team. You could say the same about Butch Hobson over Rico Petrocelli
March 21st, 2021 at 11:46 am
Beeej there is also a sport called football, it is what is discussed on this website. It’s pretty cool you should check it out someday.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:48 am
Bucs can sign everyone Licht just shoves the money years down the road. But whatever gets us to the superbowl thats what matters.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:48 am
AB is an elite WR. He’s due for a big season. He’s a value; can’t get a talent like that elsewhere. Lastly, he adds depth and presents new options on offense. Yes, I’d love to see Len back…we’ll see.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:53 am
We have only about 800, 000 in dead cap. In a couple of years probably be quite a bit higher but still not as bad as the 40 million dead cap the eagles have.
March 21st, 2021 at 11:54 am
Mirage you completely miss my point. White is saying that Fournette brings a locker room quality that can’t be measured on a stat sheet, and getting rid of him for a similar player who commands slightly less money could upset that delicate balance
March 21st, 2021 at 12:02 pm
AB > Lombardi Lenny, with that said, sign both if you can. We are getting a clearer picture about what was going on with AB and Fournette, and it is good to hear. Yes we know Lenny had a reality check with BA telling him to fish or cut bait, but all in all, both these guys were great additions, and contributed in winning a World Championship. But again AB > Lenny GO BUCS!!!
March 21st, 2021 at 12:06 pm
Is big storm available in Hallandale, Florida?
March 21st, 2021 at 12:11 pm
Hey Beeeji- Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez = Big Red Machine. Great team. Yes you cannot measure everything concerning people with stats and never will be able to. Stats do not show the heart and intangibles that a player brings. Clearly there is more to Lenny and AB that fans outside the lockeroom would never know. Glad to here good things about AB and Lenny. GO BUCS!!!
March 21st, 2021 at 12:30 pm
We already have an elite young RB ppl and they don’t even use him. This RB at 32 is the dumbest sh!t I hear every day. Licht is not going to waste his third round pick in 2020 before he even gets some more time on the field. Vaughn has potential at all around RB and was an awesome pass blocker in 2020.
RoJo and Lenny proved to everyone Tom doesn’t need a receiver RB to win. Trade 32 to add more to the eight picks. Will anyone disagree that Licht is not lights out in the draft after round one? List is too long.
Trenches and a CB first. We can get a good third and long RB in FA than risking our first round.
March 21st, 2021 at 12:42 pm
“Elite RB”–WTF? 10 targets/3 drops=30%. In playoffs 5 touches/1 fumble=20%.
No thanks.
March 21st, 2021 at 12:48 pm
Carson resigned with Seattle in the last day. So I wonder where that puts Lenny?
March 21st, 2021 at 12:53 pm
Fournette was money in the playoffs. But he was inconsistent and soft during the regular season. To the point where he nearly got cut. If we do sign a rb, it needs to be a great pass catcher and blocker. That is not fournette. He was only a little better at those than rojo, and not nearly as explosive running the ball through the entirity of the season. Again, im not discounting what playoff lenny was, just saying that regular season lenny was average at best and not needed.
March 21st, 2021 at 1:11 pm
White will get along just fine without Fournette.
March 21st, 2021 at 1:30 pm
I think this is White just talking up a fellow LSU Alum. Didn’t sound like Fournette was much for joking when he was stuck behind Rojo and not getting the playing time he wanted.
March 21st, 2021 at 1:51 pm
I’m eager to read the news. Bring Lenny back Licht you absolutely can do it. Don’t forget AB. We need depth it’s going to be a long and hard season so we are going to need every quality player we have to get back to the bowl.
March 21st, 2021 at 2:03 pm
You just don’t mess with a winning formula! Fournette & Brown are on the 2021 Bucs’ roster at the start of the season!
March 21st, 2021 at 2:34 pm
Sign Suh. Sign Brown. Sign James White. Draft best all around RB available. Let Lenny walk. Bucs will be set for the long term if RoJo leaves next year. White is a much cheaper and more efficient option.
March 21st, 2021 at 3:31 pm
I hope he comes back for this dominating 2 in a row….but if not, and Etienne is still sitting there at 32, GO! (i still want Frieremuth though)
March 21st, 2021 at 4:26 pm
This is Rojos contract year good runner with bricks for hands. I say sign Lenny for a two year 14 or 15 mil plus incentives contract half guaranteed. Hes a great runner with good hands and will help get us back to the big dance.
March 21st, 2021 at 5:05 pm
Would love to see the Bucs draft Etienne, dude reminds me of Kamara
March 21st, 2021 at 5:56 pm
Lenny is good but I wouldnt pay alot for him…hopefully he will stay but he needs to work on his hands seriously….i would def try and get james white …lenny was a beast post season but you need to win the regular season to get there ..James white would be a great addition but I hope lenny stays..also KEEP AB KEEP AB KEEP AB…TAMPA BAY ALL THE WAY!!!!
March 21st, 2021 at 6:45 pm
ROJO needs to buy one of those machines that fires footballs and spend all summer with it. The guy is absurdly fast, could gain tons yards if he could be relied upon to catch check-down passes
March 21st, 2021 at 6:55 pm
BuckRodgers Says:
March 21st, 2021 at 5:05 pm
I don’t have an opinion on whether Etienne is very similar to Kamara.
Just an FYI, on Feb 25th Ladainian Tomlinson on NFL Network compared Javonte Williams to Kamara. He liked Williams the best.
He compared Harris to Lev Bell.
He compared Etienne to Raheem Mostert.
March 21st, 2021 at 7:21 pm
Who cares about regular season lenny?? Didn’t matter last year…did it???
Rojo usually runs in a straight line right into tackler s. Lenny spins off or jukes tackler s. The Bucs are seeing that it is good to get Lenny out on the outside…think his catching improve d. Lenny and brady got into a rhythm. Didn’t lenny have a bad ankle during the season?n
Ps…have to sign antonio…they started to win when antonio got used to the team…hopefully knee ok. Godwin and evans are always hurt and drop pressure catches…that’s why tommy signed antonio
March 21st, 2021 at 7:22 pm
Fournette played like a Beasr in the Superbowl, that 30+ yarder was “next level” and that’s Exactly the Kind of player you want.
I say bring back all the talent you can, Keep AB as well, forget about “oh, the Bucs have too much depth !
You can never have too much depth, one or two injuries can change things Real Quick.
And One RB is NEVER all you need, most Winning teams have multiple backs, Team players Compliment each other, they don’t bitch about who gets the most carries, and IF they do, they ain’t the kind of players you want.
March 21st, 2021 at 7:26 pm
Draft that Stanford qb
March 21st, 2021 at 9:55 pm
Devin White is a great player, and enthusiastic. He brings the fire, but not necessarily the brains, so i wouldn’t necessarily trust this assessment, especially since it pertains to one of his LSU homies.
March 22nd, 2021 at 12:13 am
DO YOU PEOPLE NOT REALIZE THIS IS BRUCE ARIANS OFFENSE?! With Brady I’d say it might be more of a pass game.
Yes. Elite. The FIVE games (hint to the first round rookie RB squad) when RoJo actually got #1 RB touches (17+), were 4-1 with four 100 yard games. He got 23 carries 192 yards in Carolina and got 10 carries the next week. THE ONE THING I hated was not using RoJo.
March 22nd, 2021 at 10:16 am
Just saying, Fournette was a disgruntled player when he arrived to Bucland. He had to accept a relatively low salary and backup role. Ya it was his own fault because of his behavior in Jacksonville, but I don’t think he was thinking past his one year deal at the time. So he played just hard enough not to get cut and got benched. But the came the Bucs big win streak to the Superbowl and playoff Lenny came to Jesus and saw a future payoff with the Bucs or elsewhere. Lenny getting splinters on the bench became playoff Lenny. Now he is payday Lenny. Once a misfit always a misfit? Or has Lenny morphed into a team player who shows up every play and every game? Greedy for a big payday Lenny or willing to accept decent money to be part of another potential super bowl with a group of team oriented talented pros?
March 22nd, 2021 at 5:05 pm
Lenny’s regular season production is completely irrelevant.. Bucs are going to make the playoffs no matter what, and they can use Rojo in the regular season as much as they want. But in the playoffs, they need Lenny and nothing else matters to a team in Tampa,’s position.
The only relevant issue is whether signing him will prevent the Bucs from signing Suh who they need even more.
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Lenny almost got cut for a reason. It seems more likely that White is looking out for his LSU brother than Lenny being a great teammate all year long. McCoy had nothing left and he didn’t almost get cut…