Last season, running back Leonard Fournette signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite knowing that he would be playing behind No. 1 rusher Ronald Jones. Despite this, Fournette helped the Buccaneers win their first Super Bowl title since 2002 with his outstanding performance in the postseason. When asked by NFL Network’s MJ Acosta-Ruiz during an interview on what he learned while playing alongside Tom Brady, Fournette mentioned three words that the quarterback told his teammates last season. “Just keep fighting,” Fournette said, referring to Brady’s message to his teammates, especially during games that they were down, per a report by Chris Rosvoglou of The Spun.

“Throughout the season when we were down in a couple of games, his leadership took over,” added Fournette, calling Brady’s leadership as outstanding.

Fournette lauds Brady’s leadership

Fournette said Brady is a great example of why guys want to play with and for him. “And that’s why he led us to the Super Bowl,” he stressed. Fournette almost gave up in the regular season as he played a limited role behind Jones but he stepped when the latter was sidelined with injury. He finished the regular season with 97 carries for 367 yards and 6 touchdowns and added 64 rushes for 300 yards and three scores in the playoffs. In their 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, Fournette ran the ball 16 times for 89 yards and a score and added four receptions for 46 yards.

Fournette recently signed a one-year deal worth $4 million to remain with the Buccaneers and eye back-to-back Super Bowl rings. “Instead of being the new face, I came back to the team I enjoyed my process with,” Fournette said in a previous interview on why he decided to re-sign with the Buccaneers despite receiving more lucrative offers from the free-agent market.

Brady jokes about 21st anniversary of his drafting

Twenty-one years ago today, the New England Patriots selected Brady as the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. That year, the Patriots kept Brady as their fourth quarterback but he eventually won the backup role the following season. He was vaulted into the starting role after Drew Bledsoe suffered a season-ending injury and the rest was history.

Once he took over the starting role, Brady never looked back as he led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles in his 20 years in New England before signing with the Buccaneers last season. So Brady took his time to celebrate this special day by cracking a witty joke on his Twitter account, per Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston. The 43-year-old Brady shared a post by Front Office Sports and accompanied it with the words “Big day. My NFL career can legally buy a beer.”

Brady will be entering his 22nd year in the NFL next season as he tries to lead the Buccaneers to back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Brady recently signed a four-year extension that is basically a one-year extension, giving him a chance to fulfill his goal of playing until he’s 45 years old.
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