Leonard Fournette

The veteran tailback tweets (then deletes) that he's dealing with a Lisfranc ailment.

Though rookie counterpart Rachaad White ran for 25 yards on his first two touches, he finished with only seven carries as Bowles said the staff opted to ride “the hot hand” and primarily use Fournette down the stretch. “He ran pretty good (Sunday), so I don’t know the severity of it yet,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said during his regular Monday media session. Follow our Tampa Bay Times sports team on Awesome job,” quarterback Tom Brady said of Fournette’s performance. On Sunday, Fournette led the Bucs (7-8) in rushing (20 carries, 72 yards) and receiving (nine catches, 90 yards), with a 4-yard run and 4-yard catch in overtime. [Sunday night’s 19-16 overtime win against the Cardinals](https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2022/12/26/bucs-rally-defeat-cardinals-overtime/) came despite a Lisfranc injury — one of his profession’s most serious foot ailments.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette sent a tweet firing back at those who have criticized his weight and conditioning.

It may be true that Fournette has a Lisfranc injury, but there were questions about his weight long before that. Fournette has averaged just 3.6 yards per carry in 14 games this year. The veteran running back said he has been fighting through a foot injury.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette has seen his production take a dip of late, and it's apparently mainly because...

Tampa Bay also still has rookie Rachaad White, who’s seen his role expand of late, but at the end of the day, so long as Fournette is healthy, the veteran will be the team’s top option in the backfield. The Buccaneers will face the Carolina Panthers at home in an all-important showdown in Week 17 before closing it all out with a road game versus the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18. The former LSU Tigers star rushed for 72 yards on 20 carries and added 90 receiving yards on nine receptions and 10 targets.

Leonard Fournette called out his critics on Twitter before deciding to delete his remarks. He claimed he's suffering a Lisfranc injury.

Despite the fact he’s apparently hurt, Sunday’s effort was by far Fournette’s best game of the season. Fournette finished the game with 162 total yards of offense. Other than those two previous matchups, Fournette has struggled to put up huge numbers all season.