Peyton Barber's path into Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2018 lineup becomes clearer

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Peyton Barber is working on finishing his undergraduate degree at Auburn, but he got a change in his job status on Tuesday.

The Buccaneers announced they had released running back Doug Martin, who had started 65 of the 68 games that he'd played for Tampa Bay over the past six seasons. Martin's 4,633 rushing yards are the fourth-most in Bucs' history and his average of 68.1 rushing yards per game is the best in franchise history.

But after rushing for 1,402 yards in 2015, Martin had played in 19 of Tampa Bay's 32 games, rushed for 827 yards and averaged 2.9 yards per carry.

With Charles Sims slated to become a free agent next month, the Buccaneers will start the 2018 offseason with Barber and Jacquizz Rodgers as the only running backs on their roster without further transactions.

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Coming down the stretch in the 2017 season, Tampa Bay used Barber as its primary running back. In the final five games of 2017, he played 185 offensive snaps, ran for 335 yards on 78 carries and caught 12 passes for 83 yards.

In Tampa Bay's first 11 games of 2017, Barber had played 69 snaps with the Bucs' offense, run for 88 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 31 yards.

The December surge allowed Barber to finish as the Bucs' leading rusher with 423 yards -- 18 more than Martin on 30 fewer rushing attempts.

"Without going into much detail, it's safe to say that we need more out of our running game in general," Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht said at the end of the 2017 season when asked about Martin's future with the team. "We need to get better run-blocking. We need more explosive plays out of the running-back position. I was really happy, we were really happy with Peyton with the way he came on at the end of the season, so that was positive."

Technically, Barber also will be a free agent in the 2018 offseason, but after entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2016, he'll be an exclusive-rights free agent. Like all ERFAs, Barber's immediate future is controlled by his team. The Bucs need to offer him only a one-year contract at the minimum salary for a third-year player (or more, if they chose), and he either signs it or he doesn't play in the NFL.

Tampa Bay would have owed Martin $6.75 million for the 2018 season if it hadn't released him two seasons into a five-year, $35.750 million contract. The $15 million guaranteed by the contract has been paid -- Martin's 2016 and 2017 salaries and a roster bonus in 2016.

pic.twitter.com/nKMkghW3Wn
-- Doug Martin (@DougMartin22) February 20, 2018

The Buccaneers hold eight picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, starting with the seventh selection the first round. Tampa Bay also has the 38^th, 69^th, 104^th, 135^th, 166^th, 188^th and 211^th choices.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

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