Doug Martin inactive for Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints
By John Buhler
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have decided to make running back Doug Martin a healthy inactive for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
The list of NFL inactives for the 4:00 p.m. ET start times in the NFL has been released. In an absolute shocker, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made star running back Doug Martin a healthy scratch.
Martin will not play Sunday afternoon’s NFC South rivalry game against the New Orleans Saints. If Martin is starting for your fantasy team, panic, and try to pick up either Peyton Barber or Jacquizz Rodgers to save your fantasy championship game.
Bucs RB Doug Martin is a healthy inactive today vs Saints.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 24, 2016
This is a huge deal, as the Buccaneers trail the Atlanta Falcons by a game in the NFC South standings. They need to win to keep pace with Atlanta in the divisional race. Tampa Bay entered Week 16 in the mix for one of the NFC Wild Card spots.
Other notable inactives for the 4:00 p.m. ET starts across the NFL include Oakland Raiders safety Karl Joseph, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum, Seattle Seahawks running back C.J. Prosise, and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
Joseph was a first-round pick by the Raiders and Seattle has at times leaned on Prosise in the ground game. The significance of seeing both Gabbert and Keenum inactive means that it will be a different pair of backup quarterbacks to keep an eye on in the 49ers/Rams game.
For San Francisco, that means Christian Ponder will spell Colin Kaepernick for the second straight week. With the Rams, look for Sean Mannion to take over should anything bad happen to rookie starting quarterback Jared Goff.
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Having Martin sit out this game for the Buccaneers is a huge deal for both Tampa Bay and possibly fantasy football teams.