RADIO
If you are looking for a running back who will be playing his heart out this week, look no further than Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Doug Martin. Martin, who has 1305 yards on 256 carries for an average of 5.1 yards per carry and five touchdowns, has a chance to win the NFL’s rushing title. And his head coach Lovie Smith said such an achievement would be extremely important to the team.
"I think it's important to our offensive line to help Doug Martin be the leading rusher in the league," Smith said, according to ESPN. "It's important. It's always about the team goals at the end, but there's some individual things going on to be able to remember this season by."
Martin is a must start RB1 this week in a favorable matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the team obviously wanting Martin to win the rushing title, I expect him to see a ton of carries in this contest.
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Martin has been a great fantasy football running back this year and at only 26-years-old, he should continue to produce for the next few years.
Another running back who will be playing his hardest this week is Chicago Bears’ Matt Forte, who happens to be in a contract year. Although Forte says he’d like to return to Chicago, that doesn’t seem likely. That means Forte will likely use the next two weeks of the regular season as an audition for other teams.
"I mean, I want to return," Forte said, according to the Associated Press. "But if you're saying am I hopeful that I do return? There's not much to hope for right now because like I've said, I talked to (GM Ryan Pace) earlier and they haven't said anything back. So there's nothing really to hope for."
Forte just turned 30-years-old earlier this month, which will likely make some teams hesitant to sign him. However, he still has a year or two left in the tank as a situational running back. He should be a huge free agency addition to a team looking to make a Super Bowl run in 2016.
As for another player who is hoping to end the regular season on a strong note, Indianapolis Colts franchise quarterback Andrew Luck desperately wants to play in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans, even if the team is ruled out of playoff contention.
However, it is important to note that Luck has already been ruled out for Week 16.
