Leonard Fournette Will Have 'Solid' Role for Bucs vs. Saints, Says Bruce Arians

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday running back Leonard Fournette will have a "solid role" in the team's Week 1 matchup with the New Orleans Saints, via Greg Auman of The Athletic.

Fournette officially signed with the team Monday, but Arians believes the running back is picking up the offense well.

The 25-year-old had a career-high 1,152 rushing yards in 2019 but was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars before the start of his fourth season in the league.

While the Buccaneers added a proven option in the backfield, the depth chart remained a question mark. Ronald Jones was the team's leading rusher last season, while the squad added LeSean McCoy in free agency after drafting Ke'Shawn Vaughn in the third round.

Arians indicated Jones remains the starter going into Week 1 regardless of the other additions.

"It's his job. Nothing has changed for him," the coach said of Jones. "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."

McCoy will also likely play a significant role in the passing game, especially after the release of Dare Ogunbowale.

"He's a heck of a receiver," Arians said of McCoy. "That's the one thing that gets me excited having played against him all these years is that he's a hell of a receiver and he's still got a very explosive first step. Yeah, I think that will be a big part of it."

The challenge will be finding snaps for each of these players in an offense led by Tom Brady.