Veteran running back Leonard Fournette inked a deal with the Bills on Monday to join the practice squad.
Given the nickname “Playoff Lenny,” many football fans recall his impressive stat-line on the way to Super Bowl LV in 2020 — 300 rushing yards, 148 receiving yards and four touchdowns in four games. In the big game, he totaled 89 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown.
But many Bills fans remember Fournette from 2018, when he got into a fight on the field with Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson.
The brawl broke out when Levi Wallace of the Bills and Donte Moncrief of the Jaguars caught a pass in the endzone at the same time and both players clung to the pigskin after a touchdown was called.
As players tried to separate the two, hands and helmets started flying. Fournette went after Lawson as if they were in a boxing match. Both players were ejected from the game.
Five years later, the two are teammates. Is there unresolved beef, or is it water under the bridge?
According to a post on Fournette’s Instagram, the issues are resolved. In the video, Lawson says, “Man, we ain’t beefing no more,” and Fournette jokingly replies with “Even though I want to fight him.”
Both of them let out a chuckle in response. With the conflict resolved, the teammates can focus on a common goal.
Fournette got his start in the league back in 2017 when the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted him fourth overall. He played three seasons with the Jaguars before signing with the Buccaneers for the 2020 season.
Fournette spent the first eight weeks of the 2023 season as a free agent before he was signed to the Bills practice squad on Monday, and he intends to wear No. 5 for Buffalo. The team released defensive tackle Kendal Vickers in a corresponding transaction.
The 6-foot, 228 lb. running back had 668 rushing yards on 189 carries with three touchdowns in the regular season last year.
