The Buccaneers re-signed running back
Doug Martinon the eve of free agency, but will they be getting the same player we saw in 2015?
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Buccaneers fans had reason to rejoice when Jason Licht re-signed Doug Martin at the eleventh hour before free agency began. The NFL’s second leading rusher was returning to the team that drafted him in 2012 when he was a rookie of the year candidate.
The only problem is, what Doug Martin are they getting?
Is it the Martin than ran for over 1,400 yards in 2012 and 2015, or the injury-riddled Martin that ran for less than 1,000 yards in 2013 and 2014 combined?
It’s easy to dismiss Martin’s outstanding 2015 season as a guy who was just playing for a pay day and now that he got it, he’s going to set himself on cruise control and just coast. Those that know Martin know that this won’t be the case.
Everyone, every year, talks about this guy or that guy being in “the best shape of their life”, but in Martin’s case last season, it was the truth. Martin showed every critic, every doubter, exactly what he can do at 100%.
Now, there’s also a case to be made that Jameis Winston at quarterback helped Doug just as much as Doug helped the rookie signal caller. It would seem that with the two of them together again, in Koetter’s offense a second year in a row, things will continue to improve on the offensive side. Martin, if he can continue to stay healthy, will be every bit as effective as he was last season.
It’s hard to blame injuries on players. These guys are playing the toughest sport we have, at the highest level, against mammoth human beings. Injuries are going to happen. Bodies break down. Some players are more prone to injuries than others. We saw Gerald McCoy miss quite a few games his first two seasons from torn biceps, and become one of the best tackles in the league consistently since. Martin has had his share of bad luck from an injury perspective, but that doesn’t mean it will be an every season occurrence.
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Doug Martin is the back bone of this team. We saw it last season; the Bucs go as Martin goes. Anyone who doubts him, hates on him for the contract, or yells the team made a mistake by signing him better hope he proves them wrong. If he doesn’t, it’s going to be another long year for the Buccaneers.