Oakland Raiders: Five veterans who may not make the 53-man roster
By Kevin Saito
It surprised just about everybody when Gruden signed former Buccaneers back Doug Martin to a deal this offseason. Frankly, it surprised everybody that Martin was signed by anybody at all.
Coming off a pair of years in which he didn’t even crack 500 yards on the ground, and averaged less than three years a carry, Martin bore no resemblance to the back that has twice rushed for 1,400 yards plus.
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But then, given that in four of Martin’s six seasons in the NFL, he’s failed to crack 500 yards, so perhaps those two 1,400 yard seasons are the real outlier in this.
Which makes it all the more confusing that Gruden chose to bring him in. Sure, heated competition for a roster spot is always good and always healthy. Maybe Gruden thinks there’s a little tread left on Martin’s tires, and wants to see if he can help Martin be all he can be.
Having Martin in for camp doesn’t hurt. If anything, knowing he’s fighting to salvage his career, maybe Martin will make competition among the running backs that much better. And who knows, maybe with a heated competition for roster spots, Martin can have some sort of a career renaissance.
Let’s face it, after Marshawn Lynch, the rest of the depth chart is wide open. You have Martin, Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington (for now), Keith Smith, Henry Poggi, and the newly added Chris Warren III, all fighting for roster spots.
Since Richard and Washington are basically the same player, you would have to assume one will go. And given his size (six-foot-two, 232 pounds), Warren has the sort of size and bashing, bruising running style similar to Lynch that Gruden likes and wants for this team, so it’s entirely possible Warren makes this team out of camp.
There is a slight possibility that Martin can impress enough in camp to earn a spot, but the likelihood is that camp is the closest he’ll get to sniffing a spot on the 53-man roster.