Super Bowl champion Leonard Fournette loves watching Giants rookie Cam Skattebo, pushing for one more NFL shot

The age of 30 used to be a death sentence for NFL running backs. 

However, backs like Baltimore Ravens All-Pro Derrick Henry (31 years old) and New Orleans Saints Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara (30) are two of the backs bucking that trend in 2025. Free agent and Super Bowl champion running back Leonard Fournette is looking to join the party in 2025. With 6,737 career scrimmage yards and 41 career scrimmage touchdowns, he is one of only 14 players to surpass 6,500 yards from scrimmage and 40 scrimmage touchdowns during his seven seasons played from 2017 to 2023 after being the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He played for three teams -- the Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-2019), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020-2022)  and the Buffalo Bills (2023) -- and he's looking for another shot in 2025. 

"Right now man, whatever the need [out of] me," Fournette said. "I'm in shape. I do a two-a-day workout. I work out at 5:30 and 12 o'clock every day. Whatever they need me to be, that's what I'm going to do. The year I went to Tampa Bay [2020], I didn't start half of the season. I came in the back end for the playoffs and did my thing, and my role increased more and more next year when they started trusting me with the ball. I was earning the respect and trust of not just Tom Brady but the organization." 

So often are football games lost by crucial mistakes and missed assignments, but Fournette's sales pitch to NFL teams is that he plays the game the right way. 

"I'm 30, but football, it's all about this [points to his brain]. I have this. I know how to play football," Fournette said. "There was a reason why I was drafted at such a high pick. ... I'm waiting. I'm ready. It'll come to me now though. This year is the year for me, and I'll be back."

Seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady, who is now a part owner of the Las Vegas raiders and Fox Sports' lead NFL analyst, serves as one of Fournette's references. He doesn't see Brady the announcers on his TV screen on Sundays as weird in any capacity despite suiting up with him in the former's final football season in 2022. 

"No, that's my brother man," Fournette said of any weirdness involved with Brady as an announcer. "We built that relationship over those three short years, and I became one of the guys he entrusted with the ball. You have to earn that right. He's not going to give you the ball if you don't know any plays, if you're not a good teammate, a good friend, a good father. All of those attributes count as a player to me and as a man."

Fournette spent time with CBS Sports to discuss current NFL topics as well as promote his latest collaboration with "Call of Duty." 

New York Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo runs with 'attitude'

Of all the notable rookie running backs in the NFL -- Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton and Cam Skattebo -- none of them got Fournette going more than when he was asked about the New York Giants' fourth-round bulldozer out of Arizona State. Skattebo is up to 181 yards rushing and two rushing touchdowns on 48 carries this season. 

"He's running. He's a sharp, muscular guy, so I think he runs with the attitude because he might think his size, people don't respect him. But hey, No. 44, I'm watching you every week," Fournette said. "I love what you're doing. Just keep being you. Your time is going to come when your name gets called. Big players make big plays. That's what you got drafted for, and that's the longevity of the game." 

Ashton Jeanty

Some on social media were quick to label Jeanty a "bust" after the 2025 sixth overall pick totaled 144 yards and a touchdown on 47 carries, but he broke out in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears with 138 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries (6.6 yards per carry) as well as two catches for 17 yards and two touchdowns. That made him the first Raiders rookie with at least three scrimmage touchdowns in a game since Hall of Famer Marcus Allen in 1982. 

"You kind of have to let the game come to you, number one, as a running back," Fournette said. "I know he played at Boise State, so the pace and the speed of the game might be different for him. He's finally catching his niche where he's understanding taking his time, letting the blocks set up and making the long runs that were why he got drafted high in the draft. He's just showing who he is and much respect to him."

Not many people would coach a running back to stand straight up prior to receiving a handoff like Jeanty, but he makes it work. Fournette isn't a purist: he believes in different strokes for different folks at the running back position. 

"Every running back is different. Every running back has their running style. You got guys like Saquon [Barkley], who's quick. He's low level to the ground. You have guys like Derrick Henry who is tall, who runs high, but he can deliver a boom," Fournette said. "You have a guy like Christian [McCaffrey] who is like a cat: he's in and out of the cut. Every running back has their unique style, and it's all about what you can do to just get better."

Advice for Omarion Hamption, all rookie RBs

Fournette likened the unsaid competition between Jeanty and fellow 2025 first-round pick Omarion Hampton with his unspoken battle with Nick Chubb when Chubb was at Georgia, and he was at LSU. 

"That's his success. I can't look at his path, what he has going on," Fournette said of his advice for Hampton. ... "I have to work on myself and what I have to perfect my craft and get better next year. ... Everybody has their own time, their own pace. God willing man, all of those guys are going to do great things with the team they're at.

"Running back is a hard position: you get hit every place. So my biggest thing for all three of those guys is to take of their bodies. It's longer than college, the NFL. It kind of takes a toll on you, especially when you're not winning, and you are coming from a winning program. So I think all three of those guys are going to do great. It's all about adjusting your mindset. Being the best player you can be and showing why they drafted you at such a high pick. Just go out there and work your ass off man."

Josh Allen and the Bills are rolling

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, the 2024 NFL MVP, recorded his 45th game with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in a 31-19 Week 4 win against the New Orleans Saints to run his squad's record to 4-0 in 2025. Allen is now tied with 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton for the most such games with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in NFL history at 45 games each. Buffalo's face of the franchise makes it look easy, but Fournette couldn't be happier for a player and city who are ride or die about their football.

"That's a football city man. Even though the weather is kind of crazy, if it was warm it would be way better, but it's a football city. Josh is a great guy," Fournette said. "I love being around Josh even though my time there didn't work. You see why he's where he's at: how hard he works, how people respect him and the plays he makes are crazy." 

Call of Duty: NEXT

Call of Duty: Next will kick off on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at noon ET and be streamed live from Las Vegas on the official Call of Duty YouTube channel and the official Twitch channel. The event will reveal extensive information on the release of Call of Duty Black Ops 7, which comes out on Nov. 14. 

"Obviously I've been, like everyone else, a lifelong Call of Duty Fan. I've been playing it since I was in high school," Fournette said. "I just fell in love with the game. My friends and I always played it growing up. ... We're just fulfilling the dream that I've had since I was kid. ... Just building my own community into the gaming world and just excelling. People love seeing and being a part of I guess their favorite athletes' lives and just getting to know them on a daily basis."

Fournette, a Twitch streamer himself, will join other streamers and content creators to play the new Black Ops 7 on the NEXT show floor to reveal what the game's multiplayer and Zombie modes look like and more. On Thursday, Oct. 2, Black Ops 7 Betta will be released to allow fans to get a sampling of the new game's features and upgrades including new maps, loadouts and modes. 

"Tomorrow [Tuesday Sept. 30] is going to be entertainment," Fournette said. "A lot of kills on my end, but mostly just showing people who I am outside of football. Why people love me, and I'm bringing that playoff Lenny method to the game. Clutch. I'm clutching everything tomorrow."

Fournette has had many nicknames including Lombardi Lenny for his clutch play on the Buccaneers' 2020 Super Bowl run. He's ready for a new nickname or two on Tuesday.

"I had so many names. So after this tournament, it's going to be COD Lenny," Fournette said. "That's what it is. ... Warzone Lenny."