Leonard Fournette trade rumors: Why Jaguars would discuss dealing No. 1 RB

The Jaguars are checking out trade eventualities involving jogging back again Leonard Fournette, ESPN’s Adam Schefter documented Saturday. 

Fournette is coming off a profession season with one,674 yards from scrimmage (although just 3 touchdowns). He is getting into his fourth NFL time soon after turning 25 in January.

In keeping with a “four” theme, this is a glance at four plausible factors why Jacksonville would look to shift the fourth in general decide on in the 2017 NFL Draft:

RIVERA: It is all burning down in Jacksonville

The Jaguars are making an attempt to market substantial. Fournette rushed for a profession-substantial one,152 yards and four.3 yards for every carry in 2019. He also became a genuine acquiring option with a group-substantial seventy six catches, which were being a lot more than the 58 put together receptions he had in his first two NFL seasons. How lots of groups would make powerful bids for a one,000-yard rusher and an improving receiver? The Jags can obtain out by generating a single readily available.

Fournette is an affordable choice for other groups. Part 1A of the advertising substantial argument is that he’ll participate in reasonably cheaply this time. He is scheduled to make $four.17 million in base income ($8.6 million cap hit) in the fourth year of his rookie contract. The Jags have not dedicated to a fifth year and the significant bump in spend that accompanies it. They have right up until May well four to workout their choice, Schefter famous. They could let the contract be a person else’s concern.

The Jaguars genuinely, genuinely want a lot more draft capital. Jacksonville has twelve alternatives at the instant, and a trade of Fournette (and, perhaps, defensive lineman Yannick Ngakoue, who claims he needs out of Jacksonville) could get the Jags into the 15 range. That, in flip, would open up a significant amount of other trade possibilities as the group tries to improve quickly on previous season’s 6-ten report.

Jacksonville needs to end cleaning residence. Fournette was back again in the information this 7 days soon after repeating his view that the group should really examine signing free-agent quarterback Cam Newton and acquiring him compete with incumbent starter Gardner Minshew. His 2018 time incorporated an harm, a suspension, an encounter with a spectator and an admonishment by previous Jags soccer boss Tom Coughlin. He was arrested in April 2019 soon after a targeted traffic end in Florida and billed with driving with a suspended license, although he was not disciplined for that. Fournette (and Ngakoue) would be a part of a record of prominent new Jags departures that includes Jalen Ramsey, Dante Fowler, Calais Campbell and Nick Foles.