This move was beneficial in a number of ways. First of all, running back  Charles Sims does not have the skill set to be a true lead back. Sims has a Rushing NEP per play of -0.10 over the past two seasons, despite his excellent 0.69 Reception NEP per target in that timeframe.

Allowing Doug Martin to walk in free agency would have forced the Buccaneers to spend draft capital (or big free agent money) at the position to provide a suitable rushing complement. Martin, though, has a solid -0.02 Rushing NEP per play since 2014. What he lacks in Reception NEP per target (0.28), Sims makes up for.

In addition, this prevented the San Francisco 49ers from spending a ton of money on Martin and creating a similarly problematic “backfield hydra” to the one Niners' head coach Chip Kelly left in Philadelphia. Carlos Hyde hasn’t had a full workload yet, but with a -0.02 Rushing NEP per play on 115 attempts last year, he and Martin would have been redundant.