Leonard Fournette Back For Playoffs, Bucs Waive Le’Veon Bell

Playoff Lenny is back.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have Leonard Fournette activated from Injured Reserve on Sunday when they face the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round, as first reported by ESPN’s Jenna Laine.

The running back suffered a hamstring strain that left him on crutches during a Week 15 game against the New Orleans Saints. The injury came at a time where a COVID-19 wave was putting a different kind of strain on the NFL, and the Bucs in turn signed Le’Veon Bell for some depth in the backfield.

Bell on Saturday was released to make room for Fournette, and though the back was a temporary solution for Tampa Bay all along, Bell’s reunion with former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Antonio Brown certainly played out drastically different than anticipated.

Founette had a league-high 448 yards from scrimmage with four touchdowns last season en route to the Bucs’ Super Bowl victory, earning himself a starting role this season before the injury.

Through week 15, his 1,266 yards from scrimmage ranked sixth among NFL running backs.