Steelers Listed as Fourth Most Likely to Land Leonard Fournette by SportsLine
On Saturday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed on Twitter that the Jacksonville Jaguars have been shopping franchise running back Leonard Fournette ahead of Thursday’s NFL Draft.
Jaguars have had trade discussions with other teams regarding RB Leonard Fournette, league sources tell ESPN. Fournette is due $4.16 million in base salary in 2020. It's a situation that bears watching as this week's draft approaches.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 18, 2020
Fournette is on the last year of his rookie contract and would be owed a very manageable $4.16 million dollars in 2020.
Would the “win-now” Steelers be interested in landing a player of Fournette’s talents?
SportsLine lists the Steelers as one of the top four trade teams, behind the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions.
The Bills (+300) are the favorites to land Leonard Fournette, according to our oddsmakers pic.twitter.com/UR6ac40IDd
— SportsLine (@SportsLine) April 20, 2020
Speculation of course, has started.
Mike Florio and Chris Simms think the Steelers could or should be interested in landing the productive former 4th overall pick.
Simms and I spent some time trying to identify the teams that could be or should be interested in Leonard Fournette: Chiefs, Steelers, Rams, Eagles, Bills, Colts.
Who do you think should pursue him?— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 20, 2020
Fournette had a very strong year in 2019 with over 1600 yards from scrimmage, despite playing on the 20th ranked offense. The former LSU back rushed for 1,152 yards on 265 carries along with 76 receptions for 522 yards but only three touchdowns. The 25 year old back has 800 touches in three seasons with the Jaguars and figures to have lots of tread on the tires.
Jacksonville has in recent years been on the rebuilding path after their 2017 AFC Title Game appearance, jettisoning Jalen Ramsey, Nick Foles, Dante Fowler and Calais Campbell. Pass rushing specialist Yannick Ngakoue is also thought to be available for trade.
However, despite being available, the Jaguars have not found any takers yet.
The #Jaguars had trade talks centered around RB Leonard Fournette for more than a month, and they circled back with teams in the last three days, sources say. No takers yet. A sign Fournette could be headed out of Jacksonville before the 2020 season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2020
A team trading for Fournette would likely only have one year of service, especially a team with the salary cap constraints of the Steelers.
Despite the odds from Sportsline, there have been no legitimate rumors that the Steelers would be interested in making a trade for Fournette.
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