Blake Martinez is set to make an NFL return. The veteran linebacker has agreed to a deal with the Panthers, per Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.
Martinez surprisingly retired midseason in 2022, bringing an end to his brief tenure with the Raiders. He played just four games for Vegas before deciding to hang up his cleats. The move came one season after his second campaign with the Giants was cut short by a torn ACL.
The 29-year-old quickly turned his post-playing attention to Blakes Breaks, the company he operated which focused on selling rare Pokémon cards. That venture proved to be highly lucrative in its first year, but Martinez and his company have since been met with allegations of scamming customers and banned from the online marketplace on which it operated. Not long after that development, he will now attempt to return to the field.
Martinez spent the first four years of his career with the Packers, and he established himself as a highly productive contributor in the middle of their defense. The former fourth-rounder recorded at least 144 tackles every year between 2017 and ’20, the latter campaign marking the start of his New York tenure. Prior to his ACL tear, Martinez also proved to be effective in the pass-rush department, racking up 13 sacks.
The Stanford alum was a rotational member of the Raiders’ defense during his 2022 cameo, logging 115 combined defensive and special teams snaps across his four games. It will be interesting to see how large of a workload he will receive once he starts his tenure with the Panthers, a team which has dealt with a number of major injuries on defense this year.
That includes Shaq Thompson being sidelined with a broken leg, though he is aiming to come back at some point this season. Regardless of if Thompson is able to suit up again in 2023, Martinez could very well find himself seeing notable playing time in the near future. A healthy, productive stint to close out the year would help his free agent stock ahead of the spring, presuming he intends to return to the NFL on a permanent basis moving forward.
More must-reads: