Buccaneers almost cut Leonard Fournette ahead of playoffs?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette was benched for the Week 14 showdown with the Minnesota Vikings in part because he had voiced his unhappiness over routinely being relegated behind Ronald Jones on the depth chart. According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (h/t NFL.com), head coach Bruce Arians nearly parted ways with Fournette following that victory. 

"I said, 'This is your situation. It can change at the drop of a hat,'" Arians explained. "But this is your situation. Either embrace it, or you say, 'Cut me.' I said, 'What do you want? Because this is a very special team that you're part of. I think you've got a feeling of that. Just see if you can hang in there to see what happens.' And he did, and I'm really proud of him." 

Rather than asking for his release, Fournette evolved into "Playoff Lenny" at the perfect time. Across Tampa Bay's four playoff wins, the 26-year-old tallied 300 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 18 receptions, 148 receiving yards, and a receiving score. He found the end zone in the third quarter of the Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs for what proved to be the game's knockout blow. 

Fournette is set to become a free agent, but he recently said he'd "love" to remain with the Bucs, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.