Steelers Set to Acquire Blake Martinez from Panthers Practice Squad

On Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the addition of Myles Jack to their practice squad. Following that, on Tuesday, they signed Blake Martinez off the Panthers’ practice squad.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Martinez had originally signed with the Panthers earlier in the month after coming out of retirement. The linebacker had previously announced his retirement while playing for the Raiders in November 2022 in order to focus on a Pokemon trading card business. However, Martinez returned to football after being banned from selling cards on a popular online marketplace.

Prior to his brief retirement, Martinez played in four games for the Raiders and three games for the Giants during which he sustained an ACL injury. Over the course of five previous seasons with the Packers and Giants, Martinez played in 77 games and accumulated impressive stats including 706 tackles, 13 sacks, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.