5 Packers players who are likely finished in Green Bay
1. Blake Martinez
Blake Martinez saw the field for significant snaps as a rookie with Green Bay, registering 69 total tackles in that first season in the NFL. Since then, he’s been a statistical leader in the middle of the defense, pacing the team in tackles — by a wide margin — in each of the last three seasons. In fact, he’s totaled 144 or more total tackles in each of those years.
There’s no mistaking that Martinez has been a focal point of the defense almost from the moment that the Packers selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Stanford. And there’s no denying his statistical production. But if we’re talking about things you can’t deny, you also can’t overlook the fact that Martinez is not a complete linebacker.
Despite his tackle production, much of Martinez’s statistical output doesn’t come in the way of meaningful plays. He’s often tackling from behind as he’s routinely been exposed as a poor sideline-to-sideline mover in the middle of the defense and, to make matters worse, he’s not a plus defender dropping into coverage either.
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As Martinez is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Spotrac projects his market value at an annual average salary of $16.3 million per year. Even if Green Bay were to get a hometown discount, that’s too expensive of a price to pay for a largely mediocre player. The Packers would be much better served to pursue a player like Cory Littleton or Joe Schobert in free agency or looking to spend a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on a player like Patrick Queen or Kenneth Murray.