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Leonard Fournette has been on the injured reserve list with a hamstring injury since Week 16 of the 2021 NFL season. He has not been on the field for over a month, including missing the Tampa Buccaneers' victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs.
The Buccaneers received some good news this week leading up to their game against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round at Raymond James Stadium. Fournette has officially been activated from the injured reserve list and has been cleared to play. He is not listed on the official injury report for the game and is expected to be the starting running back.
Leonard Fournette officialy active for Buccaneers' game against Rams in Divisional Round
Leonard Fournette has officially been activated from the injured reserve list. He is expected to be the Buccaneers' starting running back in the Divisional Round of the 2021 NFL Playoffs against the Rams.
It is unclear at this point if Fournette will receive his full work load. He has been on the injured reserve list since Week 16 of the regular season, so they may choose to limit his activity this week. Regardless of whether or not he gets his full-time share, Fournette is a huge boost to the Buccaneers offense. He led the team this year with 812 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
The Buccaneers will be without Ronald Jones this week, who has officially been ruled out with an ankle injury. In a corresponding move to make room for Fournette's return, the Buccaneers released veteran running back Le'Veon Bell from the roster. That means Fournette will join Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard in the running backs depth chart.
Vaughn and Bernard shared the load in the Wild Card round against the Eagles. Vaughn recorded 19 touches for 62 total yards and a touchdown, while Bernard recorded 18 touches for 83 total yards and a touchdown. The equal time share worked out well for the Buccaneers last week. It will be interesting to see how they distribute the touches, with Fournette expected to get the start.
Leonard Fournette was an important factor in the Buccaneers' 2020 playoff run. He accumulated 448 total yards and four touchdowns across four victories leading to a Super Bowl title. He will try to pick up where he left off when he returns against the Rams in the 2021 NFL Divisional Round.
