After a pair of disappointing seasons with the Tampa Bay Bucs, running back Doug Martin is trying to make the most of his new opportunity with the Raiders.
Last season he played just 11 games and averaged a paltry 2.9 yards per carry. In 2016 he played just eight games. That followed a 2015 season in which the former Boise State standout was selected first team All-Pro by rushing for 1,402 yards and a 4.9-yard average while also catching 33 passes.
Now Martin, 29, is eager to show the Raiders and the NFL that he’s still a force.
“My approach is just basically I’m a rookie again,” he told Raiders.com this week while players are gathered for organized team activities (OTAs). “I have to prove to the team and the players, coaches, that I can be useful on this team. Like I said, I just act like a rookie and go out and play. Play the game that I love.”
Martin, a 5-foot-9, 223-pounder, has been a great combination of speed, quickness and power when he’s been healthy, but injuries the past two seasons have taken their toll. Now Martin will get the chance to win a spot in the backfield along with Marshawn Lynch, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington. At OTAs, he’s looked very good said quarterback Derek Carr.
“He’s been one of the hardest workers since we got here in Phase 1, hands down,” Carr told a writer for the team’s website. “He’s been one of the guys out there that just every day sticks out doing something where you see why he’s a Pro Bowler. I guess you don’t see why he got let go (by Tampa), but you’re thankful that we have him.”
Martin played high school football in Stockton, so this is a homecoming of sorts to the team he rooted for as a kid.
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“I just want to play for the Raiders and I want the Raiders to be successful,” Martin said. “Playing for my hometown and playing for my family that’s out here. Just show everybody that I can bounce back.”
