Martin sustained a hamstring injury, what feels like forever ago, in the Arizona throttling. Those who have pulled a hammy know that those suckers can hold and take a long time to heal. According to Koetter, Martin was close a couple of weeks ago, somewhere around 90%, but tweaked it again setting him back even further. Well, fingers are crossed that Martin could start practicing on Monday. Although hopes are high around One Buc Place, the anticipation of his return is even higher among Bucs fans.
No fan will get their hopes up too terribly high as Martin was expected to return back in week 7. However, at this point, his possible return to practice next week and a maybe just maybe being able to play in the game against the Bears next week, could ignite a collective sigh of relief. I know I will be relieved.
Payton Barber and Mike James are our only backs right now that we can confidently say will play. Both have shown moments of excellence, but neither can be called consistent, yet.
Despite all of the injuries to our running backs, the Buccaneers do hold a 17th ranked run game that averages over 100 yards a game. Pretty impressive for a ragtag group of players.