Doug Martin, a two-time Pro Bowl running back who played seven NFL seasons, died Saturday. Martin’s family announced his passing; he was 36. No reason behind death has been confirmed, in line with ESPN.com.
Spending six seasons with the Buccaneers and one with the Raiders, Martin earned a first-team All-Pro accolade in 2015. Although Mike Alstott received three such honors as a fullback, Martin is the one pure running back to achieve this within the Bucs’ 49-season history.
The Bucs drafted Martin in the primary round out of Boise State in 2012, plugging him into their starting lineup immediately. The previous WAC and Mountain West standout produced a career-high 1,454 rushing yards as a rookie, gliding to a Pro Bowl perch. Martin added a career-high 472 receiving yards, totaling the second-most scrimmage yards (1,926) of any Buccaneer (behind James Wilder‘s 1984 season) of their history. Martin’s 1,926 scrimmage yards also ranks fifth in league history amongst rookies.
Tampa Bay selected Martin after rating thirtieth in rushing in 2011, ending out Raheem Morris‘ first head coaching run. The team added Martin in Greg Schiano‘s first offseason in charge. Although the Mark Dominik regime drafted Martin, the “Muscle Hamster” endeared himself to Jason Licht‘s staff during his rookie contract.
Martin struggled to approach his lofty rookie-year numbers in 2013 and ’14, and the Bucs bottomed out in a 2-14 showing in his third season. The team’s first Jameis Winston-led offense benefited from a Martin resurgence. After failing to eclipse 500 rushing yards during his previous two campaigns, Tampa Bay’s fourth-year back soared to a 1,402-yard showing in his contract yr. The All-Pro slate keyed a re-signing, with the Licht blueprint of retaining a core player after his rookie deal expires surfacing within the GM’s second yr. Tampa Bay kept Martin on a five-year, $35.75MM deal ($15MM guaranteed).
The choice didn’t pan out for the Bucs. Martin suffered a hamstring injury that significantly limited him in 2016, an eight-game season for the running back. Martin stepped away from the team, after being a healthy scratch in Week 16 of that season, ahead of its season finale. He then drew a three-game PED suspension to open the 2017 season. The Bucs released Martin following the ’17 season, which featured 406 rushing yards in 11 games. He averaged just 2.9 yards per carry in back-to-back seasons to shut his Tampa tenure.
The Raiders provided a landing spot in Jon Gruden‘s first yr back in Oakland, giving Martin a one-year deal value $1.48MM. The team received something of a bounce-back performance, with Martin helping an undermanned team with 723 rushing yards. Shortly after drafting Josh Jacobs within the 2019 first round, the Raiders re-signed Martin but moved on with a release (via injury settlement) before the regular season.
Consecutive 1,200-yard rushing seasons at Boise State launched Martin onto the first-round radar. He later rambled for 2 200-plus-yard games as a professional — including a 251-yard outing against the Raiders as a rookie. That is still a Bucs single-game record and sits and ranks twelfth in a game throughout NFL history. Although the 2012 draft didn’t feature fully guaranteed contracts for all rookies, Martin earned his full sum on that four-year deal. For his profession, he collected just greater than $22MM.