Oakland Raiders place Doug Martin on Reserve/Injured List
By Daniel Davis
The Oakland Raiders began shaping their 53-man roster on Sunday, placing veteran running back Doug Martin on the Reserve/Injured list.
The Oakland Raiders have a lot of decisions to make in regards to their 53-man roster heading into the 2019 NFL season. On Sunday, they started to make moves to figure out who their running backs will be, placing Doug Martin on the Reserve/Injured list.
Doug Martin, who led the Raiders in rushing yards in 2018, was in a backfield clogged with talent including rookie Josh Jacobs, Jalen Richards, DeAndre Washington, and newly signed Mack Brown. Washington has had a tremendous summer, while guys like Jacobs and Richard are locks to make the 53-man roster.
The running back had a great few seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but was let go in 2018. Last season, Martin filled in for the injured Marshawn Lynch, and had some nice moments in the Silver and Black, but there is just too much talent on this roster currently.
Martin heading to IR propels everyone up on the depth chart a little bit. I also believe this shows the faith the current coaching staff has in their new drafted running back, Josh Jacobs, as the difference-maker on the offense this year.
This also allows more playing time for Mack Brown and the running back committee in general. Washington and Richards have incredible talent and then adding another young talent to that mix make for a backfield with no room for a 30-year-old veteran.
The roster now contains Brown, Jacobs, Washington, and Richards. We all knew to go into the season the Raiders weren’t going to roster five running backs, and they may not even roster four. They may let go of one of the current running backs – Brown most likely – for a third tight end for blocking. Derek Carrier deserves a roster spot and so does Luke Willson.
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The move to injured reserve will save them some money, although there will be some kind of settlement before all is said and done. Martin is healthy, and ready to roll, and you have to think he is going to get a long look from some franchise over the next two weeks before the regular season kicks off.