Doug Martin Injury: Updates on Buccaneers Star's Knee and Return

Updates from Sunday, Sept. 28

Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com confirms Doug Martin is active for Week 4:

Updates from Friday, Sept. 26

Jenna Laine of Sports Talk Florida reported on Doug Martin's status for Week 4:

Updates from Thursday, Sept. 25

Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune has the latest on Martin's status:

Updates from Wednesday, Sept. 24

Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reported on Doug Martin from Wednesday's practice:

Updates from Monday, Sept. 22

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports has positive news on Doug Martin's recovery from a knee injury: 

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times previously had passed along an update from practice on Martin:

Updates from Thursday, Sept. 18

The Buccaneers have the official status of Doug Martin for Week 3:

Earlier Ian Rapoport of NFL.com had reported:

Updates from Wednesday, Sept. 17

Ira Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune reported on Doug Martin's status for Week 3:

Updates from Tuesday, Sept. 16

Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reported on Doug Martin from Buccaneers practice:

Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune added more from practice: 

Updates from Monday, Sept. 15

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times passed along the latest on Doug Martin's status:

Updates from Sunday, Sept. 14

Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune confirmed that Doug Martin will not play today:

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported on Martin's knee and his return to the team:

Earlier, Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported Martin's status for Week 2:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com previously reported more on Martin's status prior to Tampa Bay's game:

Tom Krasniqi of 620 WDAE and 95.3FM Tampa Bay first reported the pregame expectation for Martin today:

Updates from Friday, Sept. 12

Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune provides an update on Doug Martin's status:

Pewter Report provides an update on Martin's injury:

Updates from Thursday, Sept. 11

Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reported on Doug Martin from Buccaneers practice:

Updates from Tuesday, Sept. 9

Lovie Smith spoke about Doug Martin's injury on Tuesday, via JoeBucsFan.com:

"

'Doug did go down with a little minor injury there, so we had to make a change, and from there he was able to come back and he was ready to go,” Lovie said on Total Access on WDAE-AM 620. “Bobby had come and had given us a little bit of life, and as I’ve mentioned we want to play more than one running back throughout. So it was just a perfect time to keep both of them involved.'

"

Original Text

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin entered 2014 with big expectations after an injury-riddled 2013 campaign. Unfortunately, Martin finds himself on the shelf again after suffering a knee injury against the Carolina Panthers.  

Rick Brown of the Ledger Media Group confirmed Martin's injury, listing him as questionable to return:

"

Injuries are piling up. Banks has a head injury. Doug has a knee injury. Both are questionable to return. #Bucs

— Rick Brown (@LedgeronBucs) September 7, 2014"

However, despite being listed as questionable, Martin soon returned to the game, via Jenna Laine of News Talk Florida:

After taking the league by storm as a rookie in 2012, Martin stumbled out of the gates last season. He had just 456 rushing yards and one touchdown through six games before a torn labrum ended his year prematurely.

Even so, Muscle Hamster figured to be the anchor of Tampa's offense in 2014. He racked up over 1,900 total yards from scrimmage in 2012, and anything approaching that would have been a huge help to quarterback Josh McCown, wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans and the entire passing game.

Martin may have returned to the game, but there are understandably some major concerns considering what happened to him last season.

Even after suffering such a significant injury, the Boise State alum entered 2014 with plenty of optimism. Per Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, he believed he was 100 percent healed from the shoulder ailment entering training camp:

In fact, Martin expressed a great deal of excitement when he finally returned to the field after missing so much time in 2013, according to Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune:

"

No, I wasn't nervous at all about it. I've kind of been testing it out, punching bags and really putting my shoulder into it, so I wasn't worried about it at all. ... I was actually happy to get back out there and be back in pads. It's been a while for me. And right now the shoulder feels really good. It really does. First day in pads, it's still intact, so I'm good to go.

"

The Bucs are used to playing without Martin at this point, but that won't make it any easier if he aggravates the knee injury. The one positive working in Tampa Bay's favor, though, is that it has some capable backups on the roster.

Both Bobby Rainey and Mike James filled in capably for Martin last season. Neither possesses the explosiveness or all-around skill set that Martin does, but they can both carry the load over the short term when called upon.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

With that said, Martin is one of the few true every-down backs in the NFL currently. He excels in essentially every area of the game and makes life so much easier for those around him. If Martin eventually has to miss some time, several different players will have to step up in order to replace his contributions.

After suffering another knock, it is entirely possible that questions regarding his durability will persist. It may not be fair since injuries can be quite fluky in the game of football, but Martin will have even more pressure on him when he returns.

If those issues flare up again, it will largely be up to Tampa's passing game and defense to remain competitive. The Bucs have enough talent in both of those areas to succeed, and it can be argued that being without Martin might help them become a more complete team moving forward.

Even so, the Buccaneers are clearly a better team when Martin is on the field, so everyone involved with the organization will be hoping he can stay on the field.

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