The New York Giants may not have landed the biggest prize of this year's defensive free agent market now that Byron Jones is reportedly leaving the NFC East, but that doesn't mean they're not spending big on that side of the ball.
Hours after striking a reported three-year, $45 million deal with cornerback James Bradberry, the Giants have also agreed to terms with Green Bay Packers linebacker Blake Martinez, as NFL Network's Mike Garafolo first reported. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the two sides will finalize a three-year, $30 million contract when free agency officially kicks off on Wednesday.
Martinez reportedly surfaced on the Giants' radar shortly after the start of the NFL's legal tampering period, and now the 26-year-old former Packers standout is set to fill a hole left by New York's February release of team captain Alec Ogletree, who was slated to be one of the game's highest-paid inside linebackers before his departure.
A fourth-round draft pick of the Packers out of Stanford in 2016, Martinez was widely considered one of the best LBs on the 2020 market, as evidenced by his new salary -- a $10 million per-year average that makes him one of the top 10 highest-paid in the NFL. The fifth-year veteran has missed just three games since entering the NFL, starting all 16 games -- and racking up at least 140 tackles -- in three straight years for Green Bay. He logged a career-high 155 tackles to go along with three sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in 2019.
