THIS WEEK’S READ-OPTION: MAKE-OR-BREAK MARTIN

If you haven’t caught on yet, the theme of this week’s Cover 3 has been the running back position, which means our Read-Option for this week is going to follow suit.

Our two choices this week bring to the spotlight a question that every Bucs fan has a stance on, and that is: What should the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do with Doug Martin?

Let’s look at some of the pros and cons.

Pros

The pros for keeping Doug Martin are obvious.

No Buccaneers team in franchise history has moved the ball on the ground better than when Martin was fully healthy. In just five seasons, Martin is already fourth all-time on the Buccaneers’ franchise rushing yards list with 4,227. As a matter of fact, if Martin were to remain the feature back and play just another two seasons (certainly three), he would most likely pass James Wilder for the most rushing yards in franchise history before the age of 30.

Bucs RB Doug Martin – Photo by: Getty Images

In 2015, Martin was the second-leading rusher in the NFL behind only Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson. He already own two of the top three single-season rushing records for the Buccaneers set in 2012 and 2015. The last time Martin was healthy and running (2015) the Bucs were a top-5 rushing offense in the entire NFL.

Martin, who is under contract for four more seasons, has proven he has the talent to be a franchise back in the NFL, and he’s done it multiple years. 

Cons

The cons for keeping Martin are also obvious. 

To start, Martin will be serving the remaining three games of his four-game suspension to begin the 2017 regular season for violating the NFL substance abuse policy – the exact details of which have not been made known. But even before the suspension, Martin’s 2016 season was not a pretty one. He injured his hamstring in Week 2, which kept him out for eight weeks during the regular season, and even when he was on the field and “healthy,” Martin failed to average even 3.0 yards per carry for the season. That’s not to mention that Martin has had two poor, injury-riddled seasons in between his only 1,000-yard years (2012 and 2015). Simply put, it’s feast or famine with Martin, who has two 1,400-yard seasons and three sub-500-yard seasons in Tampa Bay.

We also have to talk about his contract. At the end of the 2015 season, Martin signed a five-year, $35.75 million deal with two seasons fully guaranteed – 2016 and 2017. However, with Martin’s suspension, his money for next season is no longer guaranteed. And with no guaranteed money, the choice to move on from him, if made, wouldn’t result in a cap hit.

The Bucs could also opt to force Martin to take a pay cut due to his suspension, but that would pretty much mark the end of his feature back days in Tampa Bay anyways.

So which one is it? Which side do you stand on?

Are you on the side that believes running backs can be replaced easily, and that a 28-year old guy one year removed from a 1,400-yard rushing season isn’t worth keeping with the baggage he now has? Or are you of the side that says since his contract is not guaranteed anymore, there’s no sense in not letting him stick around to see what he’s got?

Does Martin walk the plank?