A little over 24 hours since his stunning release by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Leonard Fournette went unclaimed on waivers Tuesday. The former No. 4 overall pick will now become a free agent, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Teams had until 4 p.m. to claim Fournette.
In three seasons in the NFL, Fournette has eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing plateau twice, including last season when he rushed for a career high 1,152. Combined with 522 receiving yards, Fournette tallied nearly 1,700 all purpose yards, while playing all but one game for Jacksonville.
He missed half of the 2018 season while battling a hamstring injury.
His rookie season saw immense promise and production: Fournette tallied 10 total touchdowns and 1,342 total yards of offense, helping lead the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game.
And yet, a little over three years later, Fournette and the Jaguars have parted ways.
Fournette did file a grievance on Tuesday against Jacksonville to try and recoup the $4.167 million in base salary he was owed this year that was voided, per Schefter.
Speculation has run a muck of possible issues with teammates, but head coach Doug Marrone maintains that the decision to waive Fournette was based off on-the-field performance during Training Camp -- both by Fournette and the Jaguars' remaining running backs. Running backs coach Terry Robiskie echoed that message Tuesday:
"I don't think it had anything to do with 'not seeing from Leonard.' I think it had everything to do with 'seeing from the other guys.'"
The Jaguars have five remaining running backs on their roster. Outside of veteran Chris Thompson, none of the other four have more than one year of NFL service to their resume.
