In his sixth season in the league, Tampa Bay Buccaneers former Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin continued to look like the shadow of himself putting together the least productive campaign of his career.
With that in mind, general manager Jason Licht pointed out that Martin's performance on the field nowhere near what the team had become accustomed to seeing from him, according to Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times.
“I think the lack of, or having a hard time getting the run game going was … you know, Doug just didn’t have … he just wasn’t ever the same,” Licht said. “And it wasn’t until late that Peyton [Barber] kind of arrived and things started going a little bit better with him, starting with the Green Bay game and on and on.”
Martin was almost a complete non-factor in the running game throughout the season posting a career-low 406 rushing yards while tying a career-worst 2.9 yards per carry in 11 games played. He only broke 70 rushing yards twice while falling short of double-digit rushing yard totals three times. However, what should be taken into consideration is that he had missed the first four games due to his violation of the NFL substance abuse policy for testing positive for Adderall.
The 29-year-old's struggles running the ball this past season were an embodiment of Bucs' lackluster performance in that aspect of the offense ranking 27th in the league in rushing and with 3.7 yards per attempt. They also finished with eight total rushing touchdowns, which was tied for third fewest in the league.
Martin still has three more years left worth $20.7 million on his five-year, $35.7 million deal. The Bucs could part ways with him this upcoming offseason as the $6.7 million in 2018 is non-guaranteed. If the front office does seriously consider this route, Tampa Bay may look in-house for his replacement with backup Peyton Barber, who performed well in the last five games recording 374 rushing yards over that span that included notching 104 yards against the Green Bay Packers.
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