The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held out hope as long as possible only to concede Friday what NFL Media's Albert Breer reported nearly three weeks ago.
The Buccaneers placed running back Doug Martin on season-ending injured reserve with a torn labrum suffered in the Week 7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Neither the Bucs nor Martin can be blamed for exploring the possibility of rehabbing the injury and returning later in the season, but the stars never were aligned for that scenario.
It doesn't make sense to delay the inevitable surgery until the offseason when an injured Martin can't help turn around an 0-8 season. Once the coaching staff had a long look at Mike James' impressive Week 9 game film, it became an easier decision to end Martin's season.
As fantasy football leaguers surely know, Martin's second season was a massive letdown. He averaged just 3.6 yards per carry and largely was a non-factor in the passing game after racking up nearly 500 receiving yards as a rookie.
The front office's priority is getting one of its offensive building blocks fully healthy and back to rookie-season form in time for 2014. In the meantime, James will audition for a larger backfield role in the future.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" previews every Week 10 game, including the heavyweight battle between the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
