The short-lived saga surrounding Leonard Fournette’s weight appears to have been much ado about nothing.
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times sparked controversy last week by claiming the Buccaneers running back showed up to minicamp weighing nearly 260 pounds. Fournette disputed the report’s accuracy in a since-deleted Twitter post, insisting he weighs 245.
According to Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus, that’s where Fournette now falls on the scale.
After his podcast comments made the rounds, Stroud said a Buccaneers coach admitted Fournette had weighted over 250 pounds, but he already dropped the extra pounds.
Trainer Jordan Bush told The Athletic’s Greg Auman that Fournette “gains weight fast” due to his big frame, but they “understand what it takes” to shed it.
“Honestly, he did return to us a little bit bigger than we wanted,” Bush said. “He was also in the sauna every day, getting extra cardio every single day. We called it ‘fat camp,’ just to mess around with him, but he was doing that type of stuff every single day. We could see the weight coming off.”
The Buccaneers haven’t changed Fournette’s official listing of 228 pounds since acquiring the former Jacksonville Jaguars back, but he’s likely played at a higher weight.
He’ll have a full training camp in the Florida heat to cut a few more pounds if desired before beginning his third season with the Buccaneers.