Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who want to see running back Doug Martin return to the franchise in 2016 were dealt a bit of bad news by Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.
Rough Waters ahead? RB Doug Martin more likely to sign with a team other than #Bucs on first day of free agency, per a league source.
— Roy Cummings (@RCummingsFHCN) February 25, 2016
Cummings also wrote that the problems for Martin and the Buccaneers may well go beyond the first day of free agency.
“Buccaneers running back Doug Martin has made no secret of his desire to sign a new contract that will allow him to return to Tampa Bay for the 2016 season and beyond.
But as contract negotiations between the would-be free agent and the Bucs drag on, the chances of the two-time Pro Bowler getting his wish appear to be declining.”
This is definitely a negative turn for Tampa. Just yesterday, Bucs general manager Jason Licht was “optimistic” about the talks between Martin and the team.
The Buccaneers should definitely push as hard as is humanly possible to get a deal with Martin as soon as they can. At 27, Martin is in the prime of his career. He rushed for 1,402 yards in 2015, trailing only Adrian Peterson for the league lead. Additionally, Martin ran for a solid 4.9 yards per carry.
Losing Martin would be a significant regression for Tampa, who finished with only a 6-10 mark in 2015 — a four-game improvement from the 2014 campaign. Charles Sims did have a nice year for the Buccaneers rushing for 529 yards, but he is more suited to be a change-of-pace back behind Martin than a starter.
According to Spotrac, the Bucs have $49,567,574 of cap space this off-season, which is the seventh biggest total in the NFL.
So, while meetings between the two parties may have taken a negative turn recently, Tampa is more than capable of bringing Doug Martin back. This needs to be the offseason’s No. 1 priority for the club to provide balance for young quarterback Jameis Winston.