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After a disappointing couple seasons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin rebounded nicely in 2015 with 1,402 rushing yards (second in the league) and six touchdowns. He will head into free agency on the heels of that well-timed re-emergence, and recent signs are pointing to the Buccaneers not being able to re-sign Martin.
The San Francisco 49ers have hired Chip Kelly as their new head coach, with an eye on improving a lackluster offense. That will start with finding a quarterback, one way or another, but Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee has passed along talk from the NFL Combine that the 49ers could go after Martin in free agency.
A foot injury sidelined Carlos Hyde after Week 7 last season, and San Francisco struggled to find anything close to a suitable replacement from that point on. Now healthy, Hyde looks like a good fit for Kelly’s offense, and at 24 years old his ability to be a lead back shouldn’t be a question.
From Martin’s end the prospect of sharing carries, in San Francisco or anywhere, is probably not ideal. Kelly favors using more than one back, as reflected by the workloads of DeMarco Murray (193 carries) and Ryan Mathews (106 carries) with the Philadelphia Eagles last year. Even if Hyde is on the lower end of a split, assuming full health, Martin’s 288 carries from 2015 would not be repeated next season with the 49ers.
The NFL free agency rumor mill will reach full tilt over the next week or so, with teams reported to be kicking the tires on multiple players. The 49ers have the salary cap space to sign Martin to the type of contract he’ll be seeking, but the match of player and team does not look good. Overpaying in the name of making a big free agent move is never a good idea, but when it comes to the 49ers stupidity is always within reach.
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