Blake Martinez confident he can prove himself…

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The Giants opened their offseason workout program on Monday and linebacker Blake Martinez was one of the players at the facility working to get ready for the 2022 season.

Martinez’s return was far from a sure thing at the start of the offseason. He is coming off a torn ACL and was set to make more than $8.5 million with a cap number over $14 million, which was a bad spot to be in for a team that needed to dump contracts in order to get under the salary cap.

Rather than get cut, Martinez took a pay cut in order to remain with the team while he works his way back from the injury. On Monday, Martinez said it wasn’t an easy call to accept a salary reduction but it was one that left him feeling confident that he’ll return to form in 2022.

“It was definitely a difficult decision,” Martinez said, via the team’s website. “But I think for me, it all came down to my family. I think being able to have the structure and the ability to have my daughters in the schools they’re in and have that situation handled. I just love playing football and I knew what the coaches brought here from my time rehabbing here and those types of things and the interactions. I just felt confident knowing that I can go out there and prove the type of player I am coming back from my injury”

Martinez tore his ACL in late September and wasn’t ready to put forth a timeline about when he’ll be back to full speed, but it seems likely he’ll be ready to go for the start of the regular season and that would give him ample opportunity to show that he can still play at his desired level.