Doug Martin out again

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed running back Doug Martin on the trade block near the deadline, but nobody seemed to be interested in acquiring an injured, struggling back. Martin’s talent can’t be put into question, because he is a former first-round pick who was an absolute stud as a rookie. He was in the conversation for being a top-five back, as he displayed quality pass pro, good hands out of the backfield, and plenty of prowess on the ground with a whopping 1,454 rushing yards. He struggled last season before suffering a significant injury, and he’s been even worse this season, which as culminating in him falling out of favor with the new coaching staff.

Martin still can’t seem to get healthy either, as he is dealing with an ankle injury and hasn’t played since struggling to 27 yards on ten carries in Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings. According to the Tampa Bay Times’s Rick Stroud, Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith stated that Martin will have to miss a third straight game, as he’s still having issues with his ankle injury despite practicing this week.

This news doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone, and the Buccaneers are pretty much done with Martin. His best bet is to find a way to get traded, because it’s clear that even when he is healthy, the Bucs favor hand-picked rookie Charles Sims, who seems to remind Smith of old friend Matt Forte, and the solid Bobby Rainey. Sims is someone to watch closely going forward, because he could easily become the team’s unquestioned workhorse, which was the designation Martin held before his injury last season.