NFL Rumors: Buccaneers, Doug Martin nearing contract agreement

The Buccaneers and Doug Martin are nearing an agreement on a new deal. 

Just when it appeared like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren’t going to do anything in free agency, they come out of nowhere with a big move. While it’s not a free agent they’d be bringing in from elsewhere, it’s filling a huge position of need and is a move that fans were hoping to see happen.

According to Rick Stroud, the Buccaneers are close to bringing back Doug Martin on a deal that would pay him close to $7 million per season.

This isn’t an official confirmation of a contract having been worked out, but it’s a lot more progress than Bucs fans might have been expecting. The last time we checked on this situation, the Bucs and Martin were far enough apart on a deal that the running back was willing to test the market.

While he hasn’t officially hit the open market, there hasn’t been as much interest in Martin as he might have expected. Chris Ivory and Lamar Miller are already lining up deals and neither of those players had the season Martin did in 2015. Tampa Bay was even interested in Ivory if they missed out on Martin, but he has since agreed to sign with the Jaguars.

Tampa Bay has Charles Sims in the backfield to replace Martin, but they need the Muscle Hamster back. It appears they’re closer than we thought to making that happen.