Giants Country

New York Giants Lose LB Blake Martinez to Torn ACL

When it rains it pours for the New York Giants, who suffer yet another huge loss to their key personnel.

Patricia Traina

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants' worst fears have been confirmed regarding inside linebacker and team captain Blake Martinez, who has suffered a torn ACL.

Martinez, the defense's quarterback and co-captain, and a player who rarely comes off the field, was injured on the fifth play of the team's 17-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday when he attempted and missed a tackle on Falcons receiver Cordarrelle Patterson. 

Martinez fell to the ground and was on his back for quite a bit as Giants medics came rushing across the field to tend to him. 

Martinez slowly walked off the field with some help before walking to the locker room under his own power.

Martinez, who is currently second on the team with 23 total tackles, was replaced by second-year man Tae Crowder, who got the radio in his helmet to call the plays and finished the game having played 61 of the 62 defensive snaps. 

Veteran Reggie Ragland also saw an uptick in his snaps, playing in 40 of the defense's snaps. 

Martinez is the second vital Giants player to be lost for the season. Last week offensive lineman Nick Gates suffered a horrific-looking broken leg in the Giants' loss to Washington, an injury that has already required surgery and which as of last week appeared to be requiring additional procedures to aid in the healing.

The Giants are without starting offensive guard Shane Lemieux, who recently underwent knee surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon. Last week, head coach Joe Judge told reporters that he was hopeful Lemieux might be back later in the year, but Lemieux's projected recovery time would make his return this season a longshot.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for over 30 seasons for multiple media outlets, including Inside Football, Fan Sided, SB Nation, The Athletic, Forbes, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated).  In addition to being a credentialed member of the New York Giants press corps, Patricia has covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. Patricia’s late father was a long-time New York Giants season ticket holder who helped instill her love and appreciation of the game and the franchise at a very early age.  She was able to parlay that knowledge of Giants franchise history into her first published work, The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants (Triumph Books, September 2020). She has enhanced her knowledge of the game by completing two semesters with the Scouting Academy and taking a course in NFL salary cap management. In addition to her work with Giants Country, Patricia is the host of the very successful LockedOn Giants podcast (also available on YouTube), featuring analysis, interviews, and Giants fan interaction. Patricia is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America and has participated in the mentoring of aspiring journalists. Patricia holds a Bachelor’s degree in English literature (with a minor in creative writing) and a Master’s degree in Corporate Communication. She is a certified resume development specialist (corporate, military transition, and federal) and interview coach who enjoys music and creating fan art featuring her favorite bands. 

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