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 cause of death has been confirmed, according to 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 only pure running back to do so in the Bucs’ 49-season history.
The Bucs drafted Martin in the first round out of Boise State in 2012, plugging him into their starting lineup immediately. The former 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) in their history. Martin’s 1,926 scrimmage yards also ranks fifth in league history among rookies.
Tampa Bay chose Martin after ranking 30th in rushing in 2011, finishing 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 year. The All-Pro slate keyed a re-signing, with the Licht blueprint of retaining a core player after his rookie deal expires surfacing in the GM’s second year. Tampa Bay kept Martin on a five-year, $35.75MM deal ($15MM guaranteed).
The decision did not 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 close his Tampa tenure.
The Raiders provided a landing spot in Jon Gruden‘s first year back in Oakland, giving Martin a one-year deal worth $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 in 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 two 200-plus-yard games as a pro — including a 251-yard outing against the Raiders as a rookie. That remains a Bucs single-game record and sits and ranks 12th in a game throughout NFL history. Although the 2012 draft did not feature fully guaranteed contracts for all rookies, Martin earned his full sum on that four-year deal. For his career, he collected just more than $22MM.