The San Francisco 49ers are among the teams that are showing interest in Tampa Bay Buccaneers free agent RB Doug Martin, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. However, the Oakland Raiders are reportedly interested as well and are also pursuing the running back. Barrows believes that the Raiders may even be pursuing him more intensely than San Francisco.
Martin, a first round selection out of Boise State in the 2012 NFL Draft, has 3,806 rushing yards for 20 rushing touchdowns over his career. He also has two receiving touchdowns on 106 receptions for 873 yards. He has been to the Pro Bowl twice (2012, 2015) and was named a First-team All-Pro last year. Martin rushed for 1,402 yards last season with Tampa Bay, second only to the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson.
Martin was born in Oakland, California and grew up in Stockton, where he went to high school.
It is unknown how Martin would feel possibly sharing carries with RB Carlos Hyde or how he views the running back situation in San Francisco. Head coach Chip Kelly's offenses rely heavily on a strong running game, so their pursuit of a starting calibre running back is not a shocker. During Kelly's first two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, his rushing offenses have ranked first and ninth (2013, 2014) in the NFL.
There are also some questions regarding the durability of Hyde, who missed nine games last season with a broken foot. Hyde appears to be recovering well and is on track to take part in the team's offseason activities. It's also interesting to note that the 49ers have drafted a running back every year since 2009.
Because Chip Kelly likes having multiple RBs, Martin is from the Bay Area... @chesney2152 why the interest in Martin?
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) March 8, 2016
Doug Martin fact 49ers fans will love: he was drafted one pick after A.J. Jenkins.
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) March 8, 2016