Buccaneers’ RB Doug Martin is available for trade?

By Evan Massey | Apr 1, 2015

Nov 30, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) works out prior to the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reportedly made running back Doug Martin available for trade and would likely move him for a mid-round draft pick.

Doug Martin was at one point viewed as a future superstar following his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Unfortunately, he has had two extremely disappointing seasons since that year and is now reportedly available for trade. Pat Yasinskas of ESPN mentioned that Martin could likely to be traded for a mid-round pick if a team offered the deal.

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It isn’t a for sure thing, but it is enough that Yasinskas believes that the Buccaneers should trade Martin. He is coming off of a bit of a rough season with the Buccaneers last year, running for just 494 yards and two touchdowns on 134 carries. The year before that he only put up 456 yards and one touchdown on 127 carries.

Needless to say, those numbers are not the type of production that a starting NFL running back needs to give his team.

Back in Martin’s rookie year during the 2012 season, Martin put up impressive numbers and showed a dynamic playmaking ability. He carried the football 319 times for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns. Those numbers were what made many believe that Tampa Bay had finally found the star running back that they had been searching for.

Unfortunately, the Buccaneers are now faced with the possibility of trading Martin for a mid-round pick. He still has some of the talent that made him so dangerous in his rookie season, but there simply hasn’t been an explanation for why he has been playing so poorly over the past couple of seasons.

There are a few teams that could still use some help at the running back position following free agency. With the NFL Draft beginning to draw closer, it will be interesting to see if there are any teams considering a possible deal for Martin. It doesn’t seem too terribly likely that a deal will happen before this years draft, due to the fact that there are a ton of talented running backs in the draft that teams would likely rather look at before trading for a back.

Martin is just 26 years old, and has plenty of time to get his career back on track. While there is good reason to be disappointed in his play over the past couple of seasons, he cannot be totally written off as a bust just yet.

Expect the Buccaneers to listen to trade offers, and if they get any decent offer it wouldn’t be surprising to see him traded.

H/T ESPN

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