Leonard Fournette Trade Rumors: Jaguars Contacted Buccaneers About Move for RB

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had an opportunity to add another big-name player to their offense Friday, and all it would've cost them was a third-round draft pick. 

Ahead of the No. 76 pick, the Jacksonville Jaguars reached out to the Bucs to offer Leonard Fournette to help fill their backfield, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. 

Tampa chose to keep the pick and selected running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn instead. 

The Jaguars have been working to move Fournette for the better part of the offseason with few bites. The tailback is due $4.16 million this season and is in the final year of his rookie contract. While he provides a low-cost, high-upside option in the backfield, his health has been a major concern throughout his career. 

The bruising runner played a career-high 15 games last season after only suiting up for eight games in 2018 and 13 games in 2017. Despite the jump in starts in 2019, Fournette recorded his fewest touchdowns in a season with three while racking up 1,152 rushing yards on 265 attempts. 

That type of production could work with Ronald Jones II handling red-zone opportunities for Tampa Bay, yet for one year—and with an offense built to contend for a Super Bowl—it wasn't worth the price. 

Instead, the Bucs now get Vaughn for the next four years on a rookie deal to pair with Jones. 

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller ranked Vaughn the eighth-best running back available in 2020 after he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.  

The Jaguars will now continue looking for a trade partner with some of their best opportunities running out. If Jacksonville can't turn Fournette into a 2020 draft pick, it may not get any immediate value back should it find a team willing to make a deal. With four rounds left, Jacksonville needs to hope some team will take a flier on the former LSU star or some other general manager will decide he needs another running back as the second wave of free agency begins to hit closer to the start of training camp.

Either way, the Jaguars struck out again Friday, and it's only getting tougher to make a deal.