Buccaneers running back Doug Martin might be headed for free agency. But first he’s in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, and Martin said this week he won’t be letting up when the pads come on Sunday night.
“It’s a nice vacation setting but when it comes to playing the game, you have to go 100 percent,” Martin told JoeBucsFan.com. “If you don’t, that’s when injuries come. So you have to go 100 percent.
Martin rushed for 1,402 yards in 2015, his first 1,000-yard season since he was a rookie. The Pro Bowl comes as a reward for that -- he brought more than 20 family members and friends along -- before he gets back to business and presumably to the negotiating table with the Bucs.
Free agency is an option because the Bucs did not pick up Martin’s fifth year option on his rookie contract, but the team still could use the franchise tag to keep him off the market if a deal isn’t reached. Martin has said he doesn’t want to talk about his contract -- or entertain the thought that being in a contract year sparked his big season.