The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just signed former fourth overall draft pick Leonard Fournette, who was waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, but coach Bruce Arians said Ronald Jones is the team’s starting running back and indicated that veteran LeSean McCoy will still occupy a spot on the roster.
“When you can get a player of that caliber — I got great reviews from people that know him and who have coached him — he’ll fit right in, and we’ll see what role happens and how fast it can happen,” Arians said Thursday of Fournette. “But RoJo’s our guy, Shady [McCoy] is ready for his role, so it’s just gonna be building roles as we go along and having enough quality players to finish this thing.”
Bruce Arians says "RoJo is our guy"
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) September 3, 2020
When asked about how signing Fournette and McCoy could be seen as an indictment on Jones — particularly because Jones’ hands are still a work in progress — Arians said, “It’s his job. Nothing’s changed for him. We’ve just added a heck of a piece of insurance and [we’ll] see what kind of role he can cut out. But RoJo — it’s his job if he wins it or loses it. He’s already got it, so he’s gonna have to screw it up. I don’t see that happening.”
Arians: "It's his job. Nothing has changed for him. It's his job, he's got it, he's got to screw it up to lose it and I don't see that happening."
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) September 3, 2020
Arians said Fournette’s role is to be determined, but because of the position’s high propensity for injuries, the coach thought the team could make a move and carve out a role for Fournette later.
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