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Earlier on Thursday, Blake Martinez took to social media to announce his retirement from football. The linebacker played seven years in the NFL and joined the Las Vegas Raiders as recently as October.
He announced his retirement in an Instagram post to thank his fans and organizations who have supported him throughout his career.
Fans were left stunned after Martinez announced his retirement at just 28 years of age. Especially since his decision came only four days after leading the Raiders with 11 tackles in Sunday's defeat against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Blake Martinez cites 'family and future passions' for retirement
In his retirement post on Instagram, Martinez claimed that he enjoyed his journey throughout his football career. He also highlighted the friendships he made on his path. Martinez then revealed that his decision to retire was because he wanted to spend more time with his family and pursue other passions in life.
Martinez's retirement came at a strange time for the Raiders. Las Vegas is currently 2-6 and without some key players due to injury heading into their Week 10 game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Blake Martinez's stats and NFL career
Martinez was a fourth-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 2016 NFL Draft. He was excellent for Green Bay in his second season with the franchise when he led the league in tackles (144).
Martinez then continued to impress with the Packers but unexpectedly offloaded to the New York Giants in 2020. The linebacker had a solid first season but unfortunately tore his ACL the following year.
The Giants eventually released Martinez in September 2022 and he was picked up by the Raiders just a month later. However, Martinez played in only four games for the Las Vegas outfit before drawing curtains on his career.
Over the course of his seven years in the NFL, Martinez stacked up 706 tackles, 13.0 sacks, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.
