CTE tests planned.
Former Bucs All-Pro running back Doug Martin, 36, who passed away early Saturday morning while in police custody, had a rough life after his NFL career came to an end.
The San Francisco Examiner published an investigative report that paints Martin as a guy who grappled with substance abuse and mental health issues after he retired from football.
And last weekend when he resisted Oakland police after an early morning home invasion which led to him being detained shortly before he passed, David Hernandez and Eric Branch report that incident wasn’t Martin’s first hassle with the cops after his football days ended.
Two months ago, Martin was placed in an involuntary psychiatric hold upon what Hernandez and Brach described as a “substance-induced psychosis.” At a rehab facility, Martin got into a hassle with deputies.
The report also states that neurologists plan to test Martin’s remains for CTE. Currently, only the deceased can be tested for the presence of CTE.
Until recently, the report suggests Martin lived a “quiet retirement” living with his grandfather in Oakland.
In August when Martin checked himself into a substance abuse rehab facility, “he tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamine, the sheriff’s office report said, adding that he also had fentanyl and a hunting knife among his belongings.”
Martin left the facility twice without permission. He tested positive again for coke when he returned.
The incident this summer with the cops happened when a supervisor of the rehab facility pulled up to work and found Martin outside with “blood on his hands and face” and the employee called police, stating Martin was in the midst of a “psychotic episode.”
The supervisor believed Martin had punched out the window of his bedroom and jumped out. His room was found to be barricaded from the inside with the window open and screen pushed out.
When cops arrived, Martin told police he “kinda” was armed. When the cops tried to cuff him, Martin resisted and slapped the hand of a cop who then punched Martin in the face and the hassle quickly escalated with Martin “repeatedly” kicking a deputy.
In Martin’s backpack, cops found coke and a 12-inch knife. Nearby, a $50 bill coated in white powder was found. Paramedics had to sedate Martin as he was “kicking and thrashing” and had to be strapped to a gurney.
Sadly, Martin was no stranger or newcomer to substance issues. In a key game with the Bucs as the team was still in a playoff hunt in 2016 on Christmas Eve in New Orleans, Martin was a healthy scratch. The Bucs lost a close game 31-24. The following weekend, the season ended, and the Bucs missed a wild card berth on a tiebreaker.
Four days after the loss to the Saints, the NFL suspended Martin for four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He allegedly was popped for Adderall.
Martin sat out the final game of the 2016 season and the first three games of the 2017 season to serve his four-game suspension.
For years, the late, great dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, “The Big Dog,” Steve Duemig of WDAE-AM 620, dropped vague references linking Martin to recreational drug usage. The week after Martin was suspended, Duemig opened up on Martin.
“The Bucs knew Doug Martin was a Molly taker and that’s why he had such a crappy-ass second year, because he got the money and he went on the Mollys,” Duemig said. “The Bucs knew I knew, so I’m not afraid to say it. And they never said anything [about previous on-air hints] because they know I know.”
Martin’s NFL career came to an end when Chucky cut him from the Raiders in September 2019.
Former All-Pro NFL running back Doug Martin died after a struggle with police officers who were taking him into custody while they were investigating a break-in at a home in Oakland, police said Monday. Martin became unresponsive after being arrested early Saturday, according to… pic.twitter.com/ssYm1ABSc0
— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) October 21, 2025