Maybe the NFL isn’t as easy as Leonard Fournette thought it would be, after all.
The rookie, taken fourth overall in the draft, has a foot injury. Coach Doug Marrone disclosed the condition to reporters on Sunday, adding that the team is “being careful with him.”
It may be nothing and it possibly wouldn’t keep Fournette from playing in a game that counts, but one of the most important attributes of a high-end NFL running back is durability. After a raucous freshman year at LSU, questions about Fournette’s ability to stay healthy have emerged from time to time, culminating in Fournette (according to his former head coach in Baton Rouge) missing last year’s bowl game due to an injury.
Fournette rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown in his preseason debut, declaring after the contest against the Patriots that the game wasn’t as fast or as difficult as he thought it would be. But the game continues to be very fast and very hard for anyone stuck on the sidelines due to injury.