Report: Jaguars to Decline Leonard Fournette's Fifth-Year Option
A week after the Jacksonville Jaguars failed to finalize a trade for running back Leonard Fournette during the NFL draft, the team has decided to decline to exercise his fifth-year option.
The move, which was first reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN, is hardly a surprise considering the team's willingness to field offers for the fourth-year running back in recent weeks.
If the Jaguars had exercised his fifth-year option, the Jaguars would have owed him $8,483,000 in 2021.
Ever since the 2011 NFL Draft, all first-round draft picks sign four-year contracts with a team option for a fifth-year that must be exercised (or not) by sometime in early May. The fifth season is guaranteed for injury when the option is exercised. The option year becomes fully guaranteed on the first day of the league year in the fifth contract year, so sometime in March 2021 in Fournette's case.
Since the 2011 draft, there have been seven first-round running backs who have had their fifth-year options decided on. Only three (Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, and Ezekiel Elliot) have had their options picked up, though David Wilson retired before then and Trent Richardson was on a new team. Mark Ingram's and Doug Martin's options were declined.
The Jaguars have only exercised the fifth-year option twice, but have never had a player actually play on the option. They exercised Blake Bortles in 2017 and Jalen Ramsey in 2019. Bortles was of course extended before his option became guaranteed, and Ramsey was traded last October.
Fournette, the fourth overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, rebounded from a turbulent 2018 season and had arguably the best year of his career in 2019. After a sophomore season that saw Fournette have massive issues on and off the field, he ended up posting career-highs in rushing yards (1152), yards per carry average (4.3), receptions (76), and receiving yards (522 yards).
After the Jaguars failed to find trade partners for Fournette during the NFL Draft, he will now entering his fourth season on the final year of his contract and is scheduled to be a free agent in 2021.
In 36 career games, Fournette has recorded 666 carries for 2,631 yards (4.0 average) and 17 touchdowns.
