Buccaneers Have Had Preliminary Contract Talks With RB Doug Martin

Scott Reynolds of PewterReport.com reports that the Buccaneers have had preliminary contract talks with the agent for RB Doug Martin regarding an extension.

According to Reynolds, the two parties met at the Senior Bowl to discuss a potential deal.

Both HC Dirk Koetter and GM Jason Licht have said that they want Martin to return next year, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them continue to work on a new contract in the months leading up to free agency.

“Tell Jason Licht that I want Doug Martin!” Koetter said smiling, via PewterReport.com. “Tell Jason. I’m putting my name on that. I want Doug Martin to be a Buc, so you tell him.”

“Who wouldn’t want Doug Martin back?” Koetter added. “He’s a terrific football player, so of course we would like to have him back. Jason’s got control of that and I think he wants Doug back, too, but you guys have to get him on that one. But I’m pretty sure he does.”

The Buccaneers opted not to exercise his fifth-year option back in May, which leaves him in position to test the open market.

Martin, 26, played out his four-year, $6,787,528 rookie contract, which included $5.472 million guaranteed. He made a base salary of $1,315,572 for the 2015 season before becoming an unrestricted free agent in the coming months.

This season, Martin ran for 1,402 yards on 288 carries (4.9 YPC) to go along with 33 receptions for 271 yards receiving and seven total touchdowns over the course of 15 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2 running back out of 67 qualifying players.

We have Martin listed as the No. 16 player in our Top 50 – 2016 Free Agents list.