Doug Martin suffers ankle injury in Buccaneers vs. Vikings game

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to finish their game without running back Doug Martin, who suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter and was officially listed as questionable to return. The running back was seen getting his ankle taped up on the sidelines.

Not that his loss would be major for the Bucs. Martin continued to look sluggish today and had just 27 yards on 10 carries before he left the game. Bobby Rainey has done slightly better, with five carries for 19 yards. He'll take over for Martin.

To make matters worse for Martin, pre-game reports suggested that he could easily be traded, and that even if he wasn't, Charles Sims would take over his starting job sooner rather than later. Sims was the team's first-round pick who was placed on injured reserve, designated for return t the start of this season. He's eligible to return next week.

Regardless of this injury, or the truth of those reports, Martin's time as a significant factor in Tampa seems to be coming to an end.