Leonard Fournette did not have much of a role in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season opener against the New Orleans Saints. Coach Bruce Arians isn’t making any promises that will change going forward.
Arians said Friday that Fournette is working hard to earn more snaps, but didn’t say whether the running back would get a bigger workload in Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers.
“He’s only been here about 10 or 12 days, so I thought he did OK with what he had,” Arians said, via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. “He’s learning every single word. If [his role] increases, it increases. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. He’s working hard to get some more snaps.”
Fournette only got five carries in his Bucs debut, tallying five yards. In contrast, Ronald Jones got 17 carries and went for 66 yards. Fournette wasn’t really a part of the offense at all. It doesn’t seem to be a safe bet that will change anytime soon, especially if Jones remains productive.
The 25-year-old running back was very excited about joining the Buccaneers and playing with Tom Brady. It sounds like he has more work to do before he can get on the field consistently and really enjoy the opportunity to do so.
