Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Doug Martin situation being approached wisely

Doug Martin will not be guaranteed a starting job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers upon returning from his suspension.

For those who thought that Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin would be guaranteed a starting spot once he returned from his suspension, I have bad news for you.

Per Dan Graziano of ESPN, Bucs general manager Jason Licht told ESPN on Saturday that while Martin has looked great during camp, he is not a shoo-in for the starting running back spot once Week 4 rolls around.

"“It might not,” Licht said. “Look, he has done everything we’ve asked him to do, and he looks reminiscent of 2015 when he was playing for his contract. He looks the same out there, mentally and physically. So he might be one of those guys that needs a carrot. And he’s got a pretty big carrot in front of him right now, because there’s no guarantees that he’s going to be here. And he knows that. We’ve talked to him, and he’s good with it. He goes, ‘I understand.'”"

In what is a good problem to have, the Bucs have running backs that can excel in all phases of the game. Jacquizz Rodgers performed well at the running back spot for Tampa Bay last season. The team thinks he is more than capable of carrying the load. In the meantime, Charles Sims specializes as a third down back while Peyton Barber is more of a “bruiser” type of back. Those kinds of backs, particularly the bruiser type is invaluable.

We have seen teams like the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks have tremendous success off of having players that can just put their head down and bulldoze through a defense. Guys like those are able to get the tough yards and can be a real weapon in the red zone.

Martin himself understands the situation and seems to be taking it in stride, per ESPN:

"Yeah, that’s the reality of the situation,” Martin told ESPN on Sunday. “That’s what they told me. I can only control everything that I can control right now — just show up to camp, play hard and show them that I can continue to be that starting back. And when the time comes when I come back, we’ll see what happens. So it’s still in the air. It’s still in the air. I’m hopeful, and we’ll see what happens. I just show them what I’m capable of doing, and that’s 2012 Doug, that’s 2015 Doug. And if I do that, everything else will fall into place. So we’ll see.”"

This is a good strategy by the Bucs for several reasons. For one, it prevents the backups from resting on their laurels and forces them to be ready. It puts them in the mindset that “every day is gameday” and ideally, that’s what you want. Every player on a team needs to be involved mentally, both for the betterment of the team and player. They never know when their number could be called.

Secondly, it makes Martin work harder and have motivation. He wants to be the starting running back. Any real competitor hates sitting on the bench. He can use this time to get extra work in the weight room and study the playbook. Sometimes having the extra time to take a step back from the fast-paced game of football can do wonders.

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Whatever the case, it sounds like Martin will have to work in order to become an offensive weapon for the Buccaneers once again. This is a classic case of “nothing is guaranteed”, and in the NFL, many have to learn that the hard way.