Report: Raiders bring back Doug Martin to replace injured Isaiah Crowell

Literally ten minutes after putting out a list of potential running backs the Raiders could sign to replace the injured Isaiah Crowell — which included Doug Martin — the Raiders have re-signed the 2018 team starter, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garaffolo.

I’ll just repeat what I said in the previous post as the reasoning behind this move.

You could certainly do worse than inviting the Douggernaut back. When Marshawn went down last season, Martin stepped in and ran well, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, and proving he was a better back than his previous two seasons in Tampa would indicate. He carries the added bonus of being familiar with the Raiders’ offense, so he could step right in without missing a beat. Having him out there waiting to be signed is a nice luxury at this point for the Raiders.

This move always seemed to make sense. But the Raiders found a younger option in Crowell in the meantime. With Crowell now lost to an Achilles injury, the Raiders wasted no time in calling up Martin to invite the 30-year-old back for another run.