Did Tom Brady steer Leonard Fournette away from joining Patriots?
By Mike Luciano
The New England Patriots may have made some impactful additions in the offseason, with DeVante Parker and Jabrill Peppers chief among them, but many feel that Bill Belichick left some meat on the bone. Missing out on Leonard Fournette could be considered one.
Fournette is fresh off a quality two-year stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After helping them win a championship in his first season, he tallied nearly 1,300 yards from scrimmage while scoring 10 touchdowns in 2021. Fournette could’ve formed a lethal three-headed monster alongside Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson had the Patriots made this happen.
At the eleventh hour, though, Fournette reversed his decision and went back to Tampa Bay. On an offense that could stand to be a bit more dynamic, the Patriots could’ve really used Fournette’s abilities in both the rushing and passing attack. But as shocking (just kidding, not at all) as it may sound, Tom Brady played a big role in luring Fournette back to central Florida.
After hearing that Fournette paid a visit to the Patriots, Brady reached out to the former No. 4 pick and asked him “what’s your ass doing up there?” Fournette quickly put the pewter back on, dealing another blow to Belichick in his quest to build a winner without TB12 on the roster.
Fournette said before he re-signed with Bucs as he visited the Patriots, Brady reached out to him and said “What’s your ass doing up there?”
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) June 7, 2022
Tom Brady lured Leonard Fournette away from the Patriots
The Patriots decided to lean on Harris and Stevenson as their primary backs in 2021 while using two Day 3 draft picks in April on backups in South Dakota State’s Pierre Strong Jr. and South Carolina’s Kevin Harris. This should be good enough to take some pressure off of Mac Jones, but maybe Fournette’s presence could’ve convinced the Patriots to draft other positions of need.
Even though Harris scored 15 touchdowns last year and Stevenson proved he can be a quality No. 2 back/fringe starter in this league, bringing in an experienced stud like Fournette on a team that has made no bones about their desire to run the football would have been a game-changer.
RB Leonard Fournette made his first appearance in the off-season and seemed to be a little heavy and struggled some in the heat, dropping a few passes. But Bowles said he looked fine, especially considering he hasn’t been here in their off-season.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) June 7, 2022
Brady isn’t necessarily wrong here. Tampa is a more attractive pitch at the moment. In addition to no state tax and great weather off the field, Fournette will get starter reps without tons of stacked boxes on a team that’s eyeing yet another championship. That’s better than a New England timeshare.
Without Brady in the fold, New England has become a much less attractive free agent destination. Now that Fournette has officially left the Patriots at the altar, Harris and Stevenson need to replicate their sensational 2021 seasons for this offense to thrive and to make Brady’s comment a footnote in this discussion.
