49ers Linebacker Nick Martin Is Officially on Notice After the Draft

The 49ers said so much about Martin without saying a word.

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The discussion around the San Francisco 49ers has been reaching in this year's draft, but one name that should be added to the discussion is a reach that they made last year. Everything the 49ers have done this offseason signals that linebacker Nick Martin is on the roster bubble and may get cut after just one year. 

The San Francisco 49ers may face a tough decision with Nick Martin 

After being drafted in the third round, Martin did not even get special teams snaps with the 49ers until week 7. After getting limited work on defense in week 11, he got hurt in week 12, after totalling 15 snaps between the two games. He was unable to return for the rest of the season. It was a disappointing year, and to many fans they saw it coming.

While the 49ers are not quite ready to give up on him, he is going to be in a roster crunch.

Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw are the starters in two linebacker looks, and Luke Gifford would take the SAM role, as a much bigger linebacker than Martin. Last year, Tatum Bethune started over Nick Martin when Warner went down because Bethune was the backup at MIKE, while Martin worked behind Dee Winters at the WILL.

So, the plan at backup is likely to have Bethune at MIKE, Martin at WILL, and rookie Jaden Dugger behind Gifford in the SAM spot. If the 49ers face a roster crunch, they will need all three of these backups to earn roles on special teams to stay on the roster. 

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More than that, Garrett Wallow is still signed after last season. Wallow has years of experience on special teams, and after signing with the 49ers due to the Martin injury, he started down the home stretch and looked good. This is direct competition for Martin.

It will not be easy for Martin to beat out Wallow, given his experience on defense and special teams. He does not have much wiggle room on the roster with the addition of Dugger in the draft, and if it did come down to those two, the team would likely lean toward Dugger now. 

Martin will get every chance in training camp and the preseason to prove that he belongs, but he is much closer to the sixth linebacker in this group than he is the third, and that is a disappointment.