Doug Martin suffers setback with hamstring

Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting running back Doug Martin suffered a setback to his injured hamstring, just the latest bad news for a depleted Buccaneers offense.

It seems that Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting running back Doug Martin isn’t going to return to the field any time soon. His head coach Dirk Koetter told the Tampa Bay media on Wednesday that his Pro Bowl tailback suffered a setback to his injured hamstring, with no timetable for a return date.

This is bad news for a Buccaneers offense that already has had to put No. 2 running back Charles Sims on injured reserve. That means for the foreseeable future, the Buccaneers are going to look like the 2013-14 Atlanta Falcons with Jacquizz Rodgers as the featured back. Rodgers ran for 101 yards against the Carolina Panthers in Week 5, but that’s not sustainable for a career change-of-pace back.

Is this bad for the Buccaneers’ immediate future? Not necessarily, as their Week 7 opponent is a terrible 1-5 San Francisco 49ers team. However, having to trot out Rodgers as the bell cow back won’t allow the Buccaneers to have any balance on offense. That means more pressure on second-year quarterback Jameis Winston’s plate that he can’t handle.

Tampa Bay still has a shot at winning the NFC South, as the Buccaneers have the head-to-head tiebreaker with Atlanta and are only 1.5 games back of the Falcons. However, not being able to pound the rock with authority will hurt Tampa Bay as the weather gets a little cooler.

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Winston may still have the prototype to be a strong franchise quarterback for Tampa Bay, but this Buccaneers offense goes as Martin goes. Without him in the lineup for the next few weeks, Tampa Bay might fall back significantly in the NFC South race behind Atlanta. Rodgers will have to play out of his mind or Tampa Bay will fall out of playoff contention before Martin can return.