The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released running back Doug Martin after six seasons.
It was an unusual six-year run in Tampa for Martin, who topped 1,400 rushing yards in two of those seasons but failed to crack 500 yards in each of the other four. Injuries played a part in several of those less productive campaigns, as did a league suspension that spanned the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017.
The Buccaneers drafted Martin with the 31st overall pick in 2012 after trading up from the top of the second round to the bottom of the first. He ran for a career-high 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie to make the first of two Pro Bowls. After missing 15 games and rushing for less than a 1,000 yards in 2013 and 2014 combined, Martin rebounded with a 1,402-yard campaign in 2015. He re-signed with the Buccaneers the following spring but was limited to 19 games and 827 yards over the next two years.
Tampa Bay had the NFL's 27th-ranked rushing attack in 2017, averaging 90.6 yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry. Second-year man Peyton Barber, an undrafted free agent in 2016, led the team with 423 yards on the ground. With Charles Sims set to become an unrestricted free agent in March, Barber and veteran Jacquizz Rodgers are the only two tailbacks currently under contract with the Buccaneers for 2018.
