Pros and Cons of Lions Signing LB Blake Martinez

Entering their Week 2 contest with the Washington Commanders, the Detroit Lions undoubtedly have a void at linebacker.

The team's weakness at the position was on full display in its regular season opener Sunday. Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles thrashed the Lions for 216 yards on the ground. It was the third-most rushing yards allowed by a defense in Week 1.

Detroit also permitted four rushing touchdowns against Hurts & Co., the most TDs on the ground allowed by a team to kick off the 2022 campaign.

It was far from a standout day for the linebackers unit, and it was further exemplified by the Lions' Pro Football Focus grades in Week 1.

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While rookie Malcolm Rodriguez led all Detroit defenders with a 73.4 mark, Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes found themselves at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Anzalone, with a 40.3 overall grade from PFF, and Barnes, with a 29.3 overall mark from PFF, finished the season-opening affair as two of the Lions' three worst-graded defenders, per the highly popular analytics site. In fact, Barnes, a second-year pro, was the team's worst-PFF-graded defender for the week.

With the season already having started, it'll be hard for Detroit general manager Brad Holmes to make a significant upgrade at the position.

However, there are still players available to be signed, and former Green Bay Packers and N.Y. Giants linebacker Blake Martinez happens to be one of them. Martinez was surprisingly cut by the Giants on Sept. 1, two years after he had received a three-year, $30.8 million contract from the organization.

The 28-year-old has played in 80 career games since being drafted by the Packers in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. And, he's established himself as a tackling machine.

In each season in which Martinez has suited up for at least 16 games -- which he did each year from 2017-20 -- the Stanford product has amassed at least 144 total tackles, including five tackles for loss.

While it looks like picking up Martinez should be a no-brainer decision for Detroit's front office, he is coming off a torn ACL, which limited him to just three games for the Giants in 2021.

When he is healthy, there is no doubt that the veteran inside linebacker can play, though.

In his last full season (in 2020 with New York), he earned a career-best 75.9 overall grade from PFF by recording 151 total tackles (third most in the NFL in '20), to go along with nine tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, five passes defensed and 58 run stops.

Martinez can call plays for the defense while patrolling the middle of the field, and would be an immediate upgrade for the Lions' linebackers unit.

Plus, Holmes & Co. presently have an extra roster spot open, with defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike having been placed on injured reserve prior to Detroit's season opener.

So, if I were the Lions, I'd be inking Martinez to a contract.