Yahoo Sports Buccaneers activate Leonard Fournette ahead of divisional matchup with Rams
“Playoff Lenny” is back.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers activated running back Leonard Fournette off injured reserve on Saturday, which made him available for Sunday’s divisional matchup with the Los Angeles Rams.
Playoff Lenny activated 😁 pic.twitter.com/qwfN5EdDWF
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) January 22, 2022
In order to bring him back, the Buccaneers waived running back Le’Veon Bell, whom they signed for the final three games of the regular season to help replace Fournette.
Fournette first went down with a hamstring injury in Week 15, and was placed on injured reserve. He was eligible to return for their wild-card playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles last weekend, but the team waited.
“He looks fine, he looks good,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said Friday, via ESPN. “He didn’t have the setback he had last week, so we’ll wait and see.”
Fournette shined in the postseason last year during the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl run. He racked up a league-high 448 total yards and scored a touchdown in all four games.
Tampa Bay was fine without Fournette last week, when it cruised to a 31-15 win over the Eagles. Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard each ran for more than 40 yards and both scored a touchdown on the ground in the blowout victory.
On Sunday, Fournette’s presence — if it’s anything like it was last postseason — will be a welcome sight for the Bucs, who are a 2.5-points favorite on BetMGM against the Rams.
