Former Giants Linebacker Blake Martinez Retires
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Former New York Giants linebacker Blake Martinez has announced his retirement on his verified Instagram account.
Martinez was originally drafted in the fourth round out of Stanford by the Green Bay Packers in 2016. He signed with the Giants as a free agent in the 2020 off-season and was quickly elected a team captain.
Martinez led the Giant defense in total tackles (151) in his first season in New York. In 2021, he suffered a torn ACL in a Week 3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and was lost for the season.
Martinez attempted to return from that injury this year, but he and the Giants ended up going their separate ways. Martinez briefly reunited with Patrick Graham, who had been his position coach in Green Bay and the Giants defensive coordinator from 2020-2021 in Las Vegas.
Martinez played four games with the Raiders, getting two starts. As was the case with the Giants, he was on the field for the bulk of the defensive snaps as recently as last week against the Jaguars. He finishes this season with 20 tackles.
Martinez retires after appearing in 84 games with 78 starts, recording 706 career tackles, 39 tackles for a loss, and 18 quarterback hits. From 2017-2020, he topped 100 tackles in the season.
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