Leonard Fournette wanted his retribution for being the subject of fat jokes when he reportedly walked into Bucs camp weighing a robust 260 pounds.
Since he was outed for being overweight, fans and media alike have seen nothing but videos of the Tampa Bay Bucs running back working out and proving the naysayers wrong. It’s clear he wanted to quickly change the narrative, so he posted numerous videos of him working out to squash any ideas that he may be slacking.
According to his trainer, Fournette has worked his tail off to get back in shape for the upcoming season.
After showing up to mandatory minicamp, multiple reports surfaced that Fournette looked overweight, and out of shape, and coaches were reportedly not happy with him. While many speculated that he was around 260 pounds, Fournette claimed that he was a solid 245. Regardless of what he claims, coaches were not pleased with what they saw from Fournette.
Understandable after you give a running back a three-year, $21-million deal, and you’re a Super Bowl contender whose ground game is vital to your team’s success.
After a controversial minicamp, a tasteless donut quote, and a tweet by Fournette assuring doubters he’d be ready, the former LSU Tiger got down to business and put the work in.
They wouldn’t have the same energy in your face so why entertain them…… See y’all September 11
— 7⃣ Leonard Fournette (@_fournette) July 19, 2022
After the embarrassing experience at minicamp, Fournette wasn’t having the trash talk, and he began working out like a madman. Since then, we’ve seen Fournette train in Austin, Texas, for over a month, with the likes of Detroit Lions’ RB D’andre Swift, and Jacksonville Jaguars Rookie RB Snoop Conner. All of this was orchestrated by his trainer Jordan Bush, who had him doing these workouts four days a week alongside these talented halfbacks.
While helping the younger RBs get their workouts in, he was also doing his best to drop the weight he has been chastised for over the offseason. According to Bush, the type of physique Fournette has only makes his journey even tougher. But they’re locked in.
“The thing about Lenny, he gains weight fast,” Bush said. “He’s a big human in general. Leonard has a big frame. He’s not a small guy by any means. His legs are huge, not in a bad way. Learning his body and how he works, we understand what it takes, if he needed to lose five pounds, what he needs to do. It’s triple-digit [temperatures] every day out here.”
Bush says Fournette left Austin last week in the “240’s,” and his primary focus going into training camp will be staying in shape and improving his conditioning. Fournette will be ready, Bush has made sure of it. But should it have been that big of a issue in the first place so early in camp?
“He said, ‘When camp comes around and I report, I’ll be ready to go,’” Bush said. “He’s going to pass his conditioning test. He’s going to pass his physical. He’s checking all those boxes. I think it was definitely blown out of proportion. I told him, ‘It’s part of the business. You’re a professional athlete. People expect you to be a certain weight and look a certain way.’ I get it.”
Fournette is tired of social media dragging him for his weight as well, taking to twitter to post a picture of his head edited onto a body of a large person. With the caption “Camp in 2 days love y’all I’m off.”
Camp in 2 days love y’all I’m off pic.twitter.com/lTEZgv4ql5
— 7⃣ Leonard Fournette (@_fournette) July 24, 2022
It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that Saints, Panthers, and Falcons fans would be fuming mad at critics and trolls if their social media antics and criticisms of Fournette are what woke his inner beast up. If he can mirror or even surpass his 812 rushing yards from last year, this Buccaneers team will be primed to make another title run.
