The Giants and Blake Martinez will stay together.
The two sides came to an agreement on a salary reduction that will greatly decrease what was scheduled to be a salary cap cost of $14 million. The Giants, in need of relief — new general manager Joe Schoen said he wanted to find $40 million in cap savings — did not want to part ways with Martinez, who was scheduled to earn $8.4 million, but they would have if the linebacker did not agree to rework his deal.
Martinez, 28, played in only three games last season, as he tore his ACL in Week 3 against the Falcons. He was signed by the Giants to a three-year contract worth $30.7 million and in 2021 led the team in tackles with 151. Before that, he led the Packers in tackles for three consecutive years.
If the Giants released Martinez, they would have saved $8.5 million on the cap, but created a dead money cost of $5.5 million. Martinez should be ready for the start of the 2022 season and likely will have incentives built into his new contract that will allow him to recoup some of the money taken from him.
Martinez and former defensive coordinator Patrick Graham worked expertly together last season. Graham is now with the Raiders and Martinez will get the chance to make the calls for new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
