We are only in the second week of the 2022 NFL season, and team injury reports are already getting quite lengthy. One of the last things the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need is a Leonard Fournette injury. After popping up on Wednesday’s injury report, what is the latest on Fournette’s status? Is he in jeopardy of missing this Sunday’s game against the Saints?
Update: Fournette remained limited in practice on Thursday and Friday. He is questionable heading into the weekend.
Leonard Fournette’s injury status
Injuries are, by far, the worst part of fantasy football. Much like 16-year-old me playing Madden, I wish we could just turn them off. Unfortunately, the real world doesn’t work that way. There are way too many fantasy-relevant players whose injury status is up in the air heading into Week 2. Fournette is among them.
Fournette completely dominated touches in the Bucs’ backfield last week. He looked just like the guy who finished as the overall RB3, averaging 18.3 PPR fantasy points per game in 2021.
On a fourth-quarter rush that ended with Fournette being pushed out of bounds, Fournette got up, motioned for a sub, and visibly winced as he limped to the sideline. Rachaad White played the remainder of the game.
Surprisingly, not one person asked head coach Todd Bowles about Fournette’s status in the post-game press conference. Everyone saw Fournette limp off. Fans were swarming beat reporters with questions on Twitter. Yet, no one seemed to realize Fournette had clearly tweaked something.
Leonard Fournette’s injury is yet another hamstring strain
It wasn’t until Wednesday that we obtained any information on Fournette’s injury. It turns out he tweaked his hamstring.
This is obviously not what we want to hear, as Fournette has a history of hamstring issues. Most notably, last season, Fournette missed the final three games of the regular season and the Bucs’ first playoff game due to a hamstring strain.
Will Leonard Fournette’s hamstring injury prevent him from playing this Sunday against the Saints?
This early in the week, it’s impossible to answer this question with any high level of certainty. What I can offer is my educated guess based on many years of reading between the lines of injury reports.
In recent years, Wednesday practices have become largely meaningless. By the time we reach midseason, we will see dozens of veterans simply getting Wednesday off. If there is any issue, however minor, teams typically rest players on Wednesdays.
Fournette was on the injury report with a hamstring issue, but he was out there at practice on Wednesday. Officially, Fournette got in a limited practice.
While it’s never good to see your fantasy player on the injury report, Fournette managers can breathe a sigh of relief. The fact that Fournette practiced at all on a Wednesday has me confident he suits up on Sunday.
The Athletic’s Greg Auman said Fournette “seemed fine” at practice. He also echoed my sentiment that Fournette being out there at all suggests “it isn’t that significant.”
How should fantasy managers handle the Bucs’ backfield this week?
As long as we don’t see Fournette turn in a DNP on Thursday or Friday, fantasy managers should feel comfortable leaving Fournette in lineups. Given how early it is in the season, I can’t imagine the Bucs will put him out there if they are at all concerned about his health. If Fournette plays, you start him as normal.
In the event Fournette is unable to go, Rachaad White will operate as the lead back. It is foolish to think the rookie third-rounder will see Fournette’s level of work. There’s no way that will happen. But I would feel safe projecting at least a 60% opportunity share for White. He handled all of the backfield snaps. He was the only other running back to play on Sunday night against the Cowboys.
Obviously, if you have Fournette and White, you just plug in White if Fournette is inactive. But what about those fantasy managers out there who have White but don’t have Fournette?
For you savvy people, White becomes an immediate top 24 option at running back. Based on our Week 2 rankings, I would probably slot White in somewhere in the 20-24 range. Check out the rankings for an idea of what players I’d start White over.