Patriots: Bill Belichick was smart passing on Leonard Fournette

The Patriots reportedly aren’t interested in signing RB Leonard Fournette … or are they?! They weren’t, but … now they are?

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a not-so surprising move (when you really think about it) this week when they released running back Leonard Fournette, who they drafted with the No. 4 overall pick back in 2017. As expected, he cleared waivers and became a free agent after no team was willing to take on the $4 million to his contract.

Given their friendly salary cap situation and uncertainty at the RB position (despite an overload of names), it didn’t take long for the New England Patriots to become the betting favorites to land the 25-year-old stud. However, those rumors were shot down about as quickly as they surfaced on Wednesday morning.

Per NFL insider Michael Giardi, the Patriots weren’t believed to be interested in signing Fournette as of Wednesday moring, and you know what? We totally get it.

As often as the Patriots tend to pounce on former castaways, it would be pretty understandable if they were (reportedly) out on the Fournette sweepstakes. Though he would be a likely upgrade over who they already have lined up in the backfield — Damien Harris, Sony Michel, James White and Lamar Miller figure to be the four guys fighting for snaps at training camp, with Rex Burkhead lingering — it just wouldn’t quite make sense for them to add another RB.

We’re not sure how much faith New England actually has in Harris, but the buzz surrounding his name of late suggests that the team should at least see what it has in him. Adding Fournette to the mix, assuming he were to win the starting job, would see the Patriots waste a potential breakout season from the 2019 third-round pick.

Furthermore, we’d also love to see how Michel performs with a chip on his shoulder. You have to think the Georgia product will be running with something to prove following a poor campaign in 2019 and offseason foot surgery, no?

And what about Lamar Miller, who’s one year removed from being named to the Pro Bowl after totaling 973 yards and five touchdowns on 4.6 yards per carry in 14 games with the Houston Texans?

However, that didn’t stop the narrative from changing entirely by Wednesday evening. Ladies and gentlemen, the Patriots might be … reconsidering?! According to Athletic Pats insider Jeff Howe, the team has actually expressed interest in Fournette’s services.

We have ourselves some conflicting reports! So which is it?!

It’s ….

… he’s signing with the Bucs. All in all, it was smart for the Patriots to pass on the former LSU star. There’s already been enough turnover in New England, so adding another new face to the backfield would complicate a unit — one of the few! — that doesn’t need a further shakeup.

Nobody knows how the Patriots backfield will pan out this season, but there’s no denying that they already have the horses in place to be a productive bunch. As bruising and impossible to tackle as Fournette is in the open field, signing him would’ve just created more of a logjam. We’ve heard too much positive buzz about the other Pats names to fully comprehend the splashy addition of Fournette.

The Patriots are better served spending their cap space on a position that actually needs to be bolstered — and, oh yeah, an angry Jadeveon Clowney is still available.