Leonard Fournette's appeal denied; he will miss one game

The most fight the Jaguars have shown all season came on the sidelines of last week’s Jacksonville-Buffalo game, when Leonard Fournette strapped on his helmet and ran across the field to jump in on a fight and take some swings at Buffalo’s Shaq Lawson. That move earned Fournette a one-game suspension, to be served this weekend in Jacksonville’s game against Indianapolis.

Fournette appealed the suspension, but early Wednesday morning, the league announced that the appeal had been denied. James Thrash, a former player approved by both the league and the players’ association, made the ruling. Fournette, as a result, will not be able to practice with the team this week and can’t rejoin Jacksonville until Monday, which at the moment doesn’t sound like much of a punishment.

Despite high hopes coming into the year, Fournette has played in only five games this year, carrying the ball 90 times for 314 yards. But he’s got bigger concerns than that: it’s possible that the suspension could void the $7 million in remaining guarantees in Fournette’s rookie contract. That would set off a huge fight between Fournette and the Jaguars, but it could also give Jacksonville the right to cut ties with Fournette with a minimum of financial connection. Clearly, the Leonard Fournette story has more turns ahead.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.

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