Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Back Playing Through Lisfranc Injury

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense has been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2022 regular season, and it's reaching the point now where some of its players are getting a little testy. In a since-deleted tweet, running back Leonard Fournette took to Twitter to defend his play of late, revealing that he has been fighting through a Lisfranc injury.

According to a tweet he posted Monday morning then quickly deleted, #GoBucs TB Leonard Fournette is dealing with a Lisfranc injury. https://t.co/M6pdPpn2pR
— Sports by Tampa Bay Times (@TBTimes_Sports) December 26, 2022

Fournette played one of his better games of the year last night in the Bucs' 19-16 overtime win over the Arizona Cardinals, totalling 167 yards from scrimmage on 29 touches. Overall, he has toiled ineffectually this season for 640 rushing yards at an ugly 3.6 yards per carry. He's the lead back for a Bucs rushing attack that ranks dead last in the league in yards and yards per attempt.

A Lisfranc injury would earn Fournette a little bit of sympathy, but it doesn't change the fact that the Bucs are drastically underperforming. After a Super Bowl win in 2020 and the league's best record in 2021, the Bucs face a do-or-die game against the Carolina Panthers in Week 17. The winner will take a commanding lead in the NFC South with only a game left to play in the season.

Fournette joined the Bucs as part of a massive free agent class following the team's acquisition of quarterback Tom Brady in 2020. He was a crucial cog in their 2020 Super Bowl run, totalling 448 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns in their four postseason wins. He has arguably served the Bucs better as a receiver than a runner in his three years with the team, averaging a respectable 5.7 yards per target compared to a mediocre 4.0 yards per carry.