NFL Rumors: Buccaneers not picking up option on Doug Martin

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not picking up the fifth year option on running back Doug Martin.

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Add the Bucs to the list of NFL teams not picking up the fifth year options of previously talented young players. The Bucs have declined to pick up running back Doug Martin’s fifth year option, according Pro Football Talk. The guy they called the Muscle Hamster looked slated to be among the league’s hottest young talents if his rookie year was any indication. Then, he rushed for 1,454 yards in 16 starts and 4.6 yards on average per attempt.

Unfortunately, that success was not to last. In the two years since then, his total rushing yards have been under 500 in each season. His hot 4.6 yards per carry plunged to 3.6 and 3.7 in the next two seasons. Now he’s about to go into his fourth year and like other first round picks since 2011, the team had the option to pick him up for a fifth year. The Bucs have declined to to do this for obvious reasons. In fact, the team has been rumored to be trying to get rid of him as recently as last year, when trade chatter swirled. An ankle injury right before the trade deadline more than likely put an end to any interest there might have been.

The Bucs did not draft a running back in the 2015 draft, so it remains to be seen what they will do to replace Martin or at least, share carries. They currently have three other backs in Bobby Rainey, Mike James and Charles Sims under contract. It’s also possible that Martin will be recovered from the nagging injuries that have plagued him his last two seasons and have another good year. Barring any other acquisitions from the Bucs, Martin is still their best option at the position.

The ironic thing is that the Bucs actually traded up to get Martin in the 2012 draft and one of the reasons they did that was to get the fifth year option on him, something only available on first round picks since the new CBA in 2011. However, since Martin was drafted, a new head coach in Lovie Smith has taken over and Smith hasn’t seemed overly enthused about Martin. That led them to pick Sims in the third round and give him shared carries with Martin after Sims returned from a first-half injury.

It’s entirely possible that trend holds up again this year, unless Martin makes a strong case for himself to once again be the featured back.

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