Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette had a visit and workout with the Indianapolis Colts on Monday, per ESPN Insider Adam Schefter. The Colts have a solid running game behind starter Johnathan Taylor, but they are hurting for depth behind Taylor, especially in light of a hamstring injury to backup running back Trey Sermon. Sermon has returned to practice, but hamstring injuries can have a tendency to linger.
Indianapolis also has Tyler Goodson on the active roster, but he’s primarily a special teams player and does not add much to the Colts rushing attack. Fournette should be a familiar face for the Colts, as he spent his first three seasons in the league as a member of division rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fournette was the Jaguars first-round pick in 2017 after a stellar career at LSU. He came to the Jaguars and had an immediate impact, rushing for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns in his rookie season. However, Fournette never had the overall impact the Jaguars expected from a top-five NFL Draft pick, and he soon found himself with another Florida team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Fournette spent three seasons with Tampa Bay during the Tom Brady era, earning the moniker “Playoff Lenny” for his quality playoff performances en-route to the Bucs winning the Super Bowl in Fournette’s first season with the team. Over the course of his career with the Bucs, Fournette rushed for 1,847 yards and 17 touchdowns in his three seasons.
Fournette spent last season with the Buffalo Bills, landing on their practice squad for a majority of the season. Fournette did appear in two games for the Bills in 2023, getting 12 carries for a total of 40 yards. Fournette may not have much left in the tank at this point, but he could provide the Colts with a short-yardage back who can spell Taylor and save him from some of those high-impact collisions.