Blake Martinez

At 30 years old, Blake Martinez has this physical status:

College career

Martinez played in fourteen games and had his first tackle of his college career against Duke University as a true freshman with the Stanford Cardinals in 2012. He was given the Stanford Greg Piers Service Team Award for his efforts on defense at the end of the year.

Martinez's second year as a coach in 2013 featured in ten games and had 11 tackles (seven solo). He had six tackles, prompted a fumble, and had his first career interception in his first game of the year against the California Golden Bears. He was named an Academic All-Pac-12 honorable mention at the end of the year.

Martinez had a breakout season in 2014 and played in 13 games; in three of those games, he had over ten tackles. He intercepted back-to-back passes that had been thrown by quarterback Jared Goff, the first overall draft pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, in what was arguably his best game of the season. This marked Goff's highest number of attempts without an interception. In a third and goal situation for Daniel Lasco, he also caused a fumble. Martinez later said that finishing off the game the way he did was "huge." He spent the year with a team-leading 102 tackles and was named an All-Pac-12 honorable mention, as well as Phil Steele's All-Pac-12 third team.

Martinez was a member of the All-America preseason and his All-Pac-12 First team as a senior in 2015. He played in 14 games and finished with a team-high 141 tackles (75 solo), 1.5 sacks, and six pass breakups. Associated Press and Phil Steele announced him and the All-Pac-12 first team by the Conference for his efforts.

Professional career

Martinez, along with Kevin Hogan, Joshua Garnett, and Kyle Murphy, were among four Stanford students who had accepted their invitation to play in the Senior Bowl on December 22, 2015. Martinez, a senior footballer for the Dallas Cowboys, competed in the Senior Bowl on January 30, 2016. He was one of 39 college linebackers to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. Martinez finished all drills, finishing second in the three-cone drill, third in the bench press, and 11th overall in the 40-yard dash.

Martinez attended Stanford's pro day on March 17, 2016 and opted to stand on the majority of his total numbers, but only did the 60-yard shuttle, vertical leap (34"), and positioning drills. Representatives and scouts from all 32 clubs attended, including Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and Bills general manager Doug Whaley, as well as Buffalo Bills' general manager Doug Whaley. He played for various organizations, including the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles, in particular. He was expected to be a fourth to sixth round pick by NFL draft specialists and scouts at the conclusion of the pre-draft process. NFLDraftScout.com rated him as the sixth best inside linebacker prospect in the draft and the tenth best linebacker by Sports Illustrated.

Martinez was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round (131st overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. Kyle Murphy, a Stanford teammate, was also selected in the sixth round (200th overall).

Martinez was signed by the Green Bay Packers to a four-year, $2.72 million contract, which also included a signing bonus of $383,393.

During organized team activities, he was with the first team defense and established a rapport with fellow inside linebacker Jake Ryan. Sam Barrington's absence caused him to miss the first team reps due to a foot injury a year earlier. Throughout training camp, he competed for a job at inside linebacker against Sam Barrington, Carl Bradford, and Joe Thomas. Martinez and Blake were nicknamed "Jake and Blake" because of their chemistry and rapport that the two had gained during off-season games and open practices. The nickname is a play on "Shake and Bake," a term that has been adapted in the film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.

Martinez and Ryan, as the starting linebackers, were selected by head coach Mike McCarthy, with Nick Perry and Clay Matthews III as the starting linebackers. In the Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he made his first career start and first-day appearance in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener, collecting six combined tackles. During a 26–10 victory over the Chicago Bears on October 20, 2016, he had five combined tackles, two pass breakups, and his first interception of the season. During a 47–25 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 10, Martinez had a season-high ten total tackles. Since suffering an MCL sprain during the Packers' Week 11 loss to the Washington Redskins, he missed three games (Week 12-14). In the Packers' 31–24 victory over Matthew Stafford, Martinez made three solo tackles and made his first sacking in the NFL. He finished his rookie season in 2016 with 69 combined tackles (47 solo), four pass deflections, a suspended conviction, and an interception in 13 games and nine starts. Pro Football Focus assigned him a 49.1 overall rating, placing him 68th among 88 qualifying linebackers.

With a 10–6 record, the Green Bay Packers placed at the top of the NFC North. Martinez appeared in his first playoff game and made three combined tackles as the Packers defeated the New York Giants 38–13 in the NFC Wildcard game on January 8, 2017. The Packers then defeated the Dallas Cowboys, but the Atlanta Falcons then defeated them 44-21 in the NFC Championship.

Martinez and Ryan were scheduled as the first inside linebackers in training camp. During the 2017 regular season, Martinez, Ryan, Matthews, and Perry all returned as the starting linebacker corps under defensive coordinator Dom Capers.

During their 34–23 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan recorded five solo tackles and fired him. In Green Bay's 26–17 loss to the New Orleans Saints, Martinez had a season-high 16 combined tackles. During a 31-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he made 15 combined tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted Ben Roethlisberger. Martinez finished the 2017 season with 144 combined tackles (96 solo), eight pass deflections, one suspended, one suspended, and one intercept in 16 games and 16 starts. With Buffalo Bills linebacker Preston Brown and Cleveland Browns' linebacker Joe Schobert, his 144 combined tackles rank second in the league. He was also the team's top tackler and was second on the team with 979 defensive snaps. Martinez received an overall rating of 80.2 for 2017 and his grade ranked 23rd out of all qualifying linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus.

With a 7–9 record, the Green Bay Packers finished third in the NFC North and did not qualify for the playoffs. After the season, defensive coordinator Dom Capers and offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett were both suspended from their positions.

Martinez stayed in his role as a starting linebacker in 2018. During a 31–23 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 5, he had five combined tackles and made a season-high two sacks. Martinez's Packers defeated the San Francisco 49ers 33-28 in Week 6, with a season-high 12 combined tackles (nine solo) on October 15, 2018. After losing by 20–17 to the Arizona Cardinals on December 3, 2018, the Green Bay Packers reported that head coach Mike McCarthy would be fired on December 3, 2018. Joe Philbin, the offensive coordinator, took over for the remaining five games. Martinez led to his season-high of 12 combined tackles (11 solo) in a 34-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14. Martinez played in all 16 games in 2018 and had 144 total tackles (91 solo), five sacks, and three pass deflections. He had his second most tackles among all players in 2018, behind Indianapolis Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard. Pro Football Focus assigned him a 74.8 overall rating, ranking 17th out of all qualifying linebackers in 2018.

Martinez won by 10-3 over the Chicago Bears in Week 1 against Mitchell Trubisky. Martinez made a team-high 16 tackles against the Oakland Raiders in week 7, causing a touchback and causing a touchback. Martinez also intercepted a pass blocked by Blough during Week 17 against the Detroit Lions, sacked rookie quarterback David Blough once, and intercepted a pass thrown by Blough during the 23-20 win.

Martinez agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal with the New York Giants on March 26, 2020.

Martinez made his Giants debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. Martinez led the Giants with 13 tackles in the 26-16 loss. Martinez led the team with 8 tackles against the Chicago Bears in Week 2 and his first dismissal of the season on Mitchell Trubisky after the 17–13 loss. Martinez led the team with 10 tackles and intercepted a pass played by Alex Smith during the 23-20 victory in Week 9.

Martinez sustained a torn ACL in Week 3 and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on September 29, 2021.

Martinez was born on September 1, 2022, and he was releasing him on September 1, 2022.

Martinez signed for the Las Vegas Rams' practice squad on October 4, 2022, and three days later, he joined the active roster.

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