Giants 2022 Make or Break Players: Blake Martinez looks for redemption in return from injury

NFL training camp starts at the end of July, which means players around the league are getting their last bits of offseason work in before the real work of trying to make the roster begins.

For certain players, this season is a make-or-break one for them.

We’ll highlight those players for the Giants, continuing with Blake Martinez.

Why Make or Break?

Martinez was a backbone for the Giants' defense in 2020, immediately coming in and leading the team in tackles just like he did in Green Bay. 

Martinez totaled 151 that year, but would only be able to play three games in 2021 after suffering a torn ACL against the Atlanta Falcons. It was a huge blow to the Giants linebacker corps and the defense as a whole -- he was a captain after all. 

Seeing that a new front office and coaching staff was coming in, many speculated that Martinez's $14.5 million cap hit just wasn't going to happen this year. Coming off an injury like that, it was too high. 

So the Giants restructured Martinez's contract and he walks into 2022 aiming to prove that the biggest injury of his career thus far was only a minor setback. 

He has just one year left with the Giants and is coming off a serious knee injury as a linebacker in the NFL, where you must give up your body at times to make a play. Free agency is looming and Martinez knows this is a prove-it year. 

What will break it?

Wink Martindale's scheme requires equal parts strength and speed. He wants his front seven to be agile but powerful, or you can't be so hyper aggressive all the time. 

Coming off a knee injury, players are usually somewhat hesitant to turn the burners on and feel like themselves again. Just ask Saquon Barkley, who admitted last year he didn't feel like himself at times. 

Could Martinez feel the same way, and if so, will it hurt his play on the field? Martinez has always been one to shoot gaps and win at the point of attack more often than not. 

But as a linebacker one hesitant move could turn a tackle for loss into a huge gain for the other team. 

Martinez is still just 28 years old, but losing a step at this position shows more on tape than others, especially in coverage situations. Martindale will be asking his middle linebackers to drop into coverage with creative play-calling, so Martinez might not be just on a running back or tight end. Receivers might be in the mix, too. 

What we're saying is this: Martinez might not want to test that knee's limits, but he can't hurt the team while doing it. That will cost him.

What will make it?

On the flip side, Martinez is the ultimate team player and someone who will very rarely make any excuse about his own situation.

He's accountable, and I'm sure he's going to be accountable as he works back into the fold. Martinez will likely even say that his starting middle linebacker role isn't his until his earns it.

But while you can't really teach mindset and drive, the tape does show if you're performing on the field. 

When games get rolling, Martinez will have to continue being the guy who racks up tackles. He got slightly better in coverage when he came over from the Packers to the Giants, but he still wasn't the best at that. His calling card is wrapping up and not letting go, and that's where Martindale will be looking. 

If he is to send, say, five or six guys at the quarterback and Martinez is the last line before a big gain happens, can he trust him to take him down as usual? 

Martinez has to play consistent to keep that starting job, which he should get, and maybe Big Blue will continue to see his value moving forward.