Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin died this weekend, his family confirmed on Sunday afternoon.
He was 36.
Further specifics of Martin’s death are not yet known. His family said in a statement via Fox Sports’ Greg Auman that he died on Saturday morning.
“It is with great sadness to inform you all that Doug Martin passed away Saturday morning,” his family said. “Cause of death is currently unconfirmed. Please respect our privacy at this time.”
In total, the “Muscle Hamster” had 17 100-yard games in his college career and finished with 3,431 rushing yards, which still ranks in the top-10 all-time at Boise State. The Broncos were consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally and went a wild 50-3 in his four seasons there under coach Chris Petersen.
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Martin spent seven seasons in the league, all but one of which were with the Buccaneers after they selected him with the No. 31 overall pick out of Boise State in 2012. He dominated with the Broncos, and played a big role in their 2009 team that went undefeated and won the Fiesta Bowl. Martin racked up back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons to close out his college career.
Once in the league, Martin had his best season right out of the gate. He had 1,454 yards and 12 total touchdowns as a rookie, both of which were career-highs. Martin was limited due to injuries for big chunks of his career, but he had another 1,400-yard campaign in 2015. That helped him ink a long contract extension with the team, but that fell apart and he was released two seasons later after he was suspended for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
He eventually signed with the Oakland Raiders for one final season in 2018 and teamed up with Marshawn Lynch in the backfield before retiring. In total, he had 5,356 yards and 32 total touchdowns over 84 games.