Three years ago, the man dubbed the Muscle Hamster became one of the hot young players in the NFL. Now, running back Doug Martin is just another guy.
The Buccaneers have confirmed that notion by not picking up Martin’s fifth-year option, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
Martin rushed for 1,454 yards in 16 starts as a rookie, but he has been under 500 yards in each of his two seasons since then. His average also has plunged from 4.6 yards per attempt in 2012 to 3.6 and 3.7 in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Martin was the subject of trade rumors last year, before an ankle injury right before the trade deadline.
The Buccaneers drafted no running backs in 2015, but that they also have Charles Sims, Bobby Rainey, and Mike James under contract.
With Martin now in a contract year, maybe he’ll become the Muscle Hamster again. That approach definitely worked in 2014 for the Saints and Mark Ingram.
