Written by Rick Stroud at the TampaBayTimes.com
Doug Martin led the NFL with 906 yards after contact last season, a testament to his strength and effort. It’s something coach Dirk Koetter, then the Bucs’ offensive coordinator, noticed early on last offseason.
“From the very first day of (offseason workouts) to the very last day of the season, every time Doug touched the ball on the practice field, he hit the hole hard, he hit it full speed and he made it like it was a real play,” Koetter said. “So when he had success even in preseason games last year, it wasn’t a surprise because that’s how he was looking in practice every day. When he came back last offseason and was working in the offseason program, he definitely had something to prove but he had that mind-set and was able to carry it all the way through.”
Because of that, the Bucs wouldn’t let Martin break away from them as a free agent, wrapping him up just more than 90 minutes before Wednesday’s 4 p.m. start of the signing period when he agreed to a five-year, $35.75 million deal with $15 million guaranteed.
For Martin, 27, who finished second in the NFL in rushing to the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson with 1,402 yards and six touchdowns, it was proof he could bounce back from two straight injury-plagued seasons and return to the All-Pro form he showed in 2012 as a rookie first-round pick.
“It’s definitely been a journey, having a great season in 2012 and getting injured and being out for the season and having an injuries here and there in the third season,” Martin said Wednesday. “But to come back from that adversity and come back last year as strong as I did it definitely makes me proud and I’m glad that it happened that way.”
With Martin locked up, the Bucs quickly found another offensive lineman for him to run behind. Tampa Bay signed Seattle guard J.R. Sweezy to a five-year, $32.5 million deal, with $14.5 million fully guaranteed. The 6-4, 300-pound Sweezy, who turns 27 next month, started at least 15 games in each off the last three seasons for the Seahawks and could be a replacement for Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins, who retired Monday after 11 seasons.
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