The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly planning to move on from veteran running back Leonard Furnett. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The 28-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Buccaneers after spending his first three years with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The decision to release Furnett by June 1 would save the Buccaneers about $3.47 million, but would incur a loss of $5 million per person. Over the cap. The move also paves the way for second-year running back Rachaad Whyte, who will take on a more active offensive role in 2023.
Furnett signed with the Buccaneers after being waived by the Jaguars in the summer of 2020. He, along with new signings Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown, helped Tampa Bay win Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs. Furnette was nicknamed “Playoff Lenny” and then Lombardi Lenny the same year, when he became the third player in NFL history to score a touchdown in four playoff games in a single postseason.
Furnett returned to Tampa in 2021 and had an even better season with 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns before signing a three-year, $21 million contract in 2022. with a league-worst 3.5 yards per rush among 35 players with at least 150 carries.
The Buccaneers’ offense will see a change this year with the departure of Brady and most of the team’s coaching staff. Former Seattle Seahawks assistant Dave Canales will now lead the offense, but no one can guess who will be the team’s quarterback in 2023. The only contract player is former second-round pick Kyle Trask, whom Canales recently spoke highly of.
But at the very least, it looks like White will be a major player for the Buccaneers this coming season. The rookie had a good season, running 129 times for 481 yards with one rushing touchdown and adding 50 receptions for 290 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
