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Bucs decline fifth-year option on RB Martin

Local Breaking News

TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be moving on from Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin.

The team has decided not to pick up the fifth-year option it holds on the former first-round draft pick, Bucs general manager Jason Licht told The Tribune.

The decision means Martin will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2015 season.

Martin has struggled to regain his rookie Pro Bowl form from 2012, when he rushed for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns, while catching 49 passes out of the backfield.

He was limited to six games in 2013 with a shoulder injury, but showed some of his rookie form down the stretch last season, rushing for 96 yards against Carolina in Week 15 and finishing the season with 19 carries for 108 yards in a 23-20 loss to the Saints.