After Being Allegedly Banned for Scamming Pokémon Card Collectors, LB Blake Martinez Now Looks to Make a Return to the NFL

The retired linebacker is likely to find his home in the league once again. As the NFL week games are underway, teams are also looking for some potential trade-ins and trade-outs. Amid this, LB Blake Martinez, who retired last year, is looking for a comeback in the NFL.

Blake Martinez was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2016 as a fourth-round pick. He had his productive first four seasons and then was later drafted to the New York Giants in 2020, by signing a three-year $30 million deal. The University of Stanford product was later released by the Giants after just two years, and he last made his presence for just four games with the Las Vegas Raiders, before his retirement. However, now Martinez is looking to return.

LB Blake Martinez to return to the NFL?

After his 2022 retirement, linebacker Blake Martinez went on to start his own business. Till then everybody had the idea that he wouldn’t come back. But, after his business flopped and was shockingly banned, football enthusiasts doubted that the 29-year-old would make a comeback. Now, according to a latest report, by an NFL insider, Dov Kleiman, released a tweet in favor of Martinez. According to the tweet, “The #Panthers are working out former #Giants, #Raiders, #Packers LB Blake Martinez.”

Bryce Young and his team the Carolina Panthers who are on the verge of completely falling apart in the league this season, are planning to cash out some underperformed names. With just less than 4 days left for trade, the Panthers are eyeing some strong options, and due to this, they worked out Martinez on Wednesday. The linebacker recorded 20 tackles for Las Vegas before his retirement in November 2022. He could fill in a blazing need for the Panthers as linebackers Frankie Luvu is sustaining a hip injury, and Shaq Thompson (lower leg) has been ruled out of the season.

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The First-team All-Pac-12 winner wanted to return to the NFL, as the dream he had placed his faith in was shattered when he was banned due to an alleged scam.

What happened to Blake Martinez?

Shortly after retiring from the NFL in 2022, LB Blake Martinez announced that he would be starting his own business selling Pokemon cards. But, ‘Whatnot’ – an online social marketplace that allows people to sell products to each other, claimed that the linebacker might not have done something faithful for the community. And hence, they banned Martinez.

In a statement released earlier by them, WhatNot stated, “After a comprehensive investigation into Blakesbreaks’ (Martinez’s account handle) operations, we have decided to permanently remove the seller from our platform, including the individual employees involved in misconduct. We have refunded all buyers impacted by the infractions. If you believe you were affected by an incident on his streams, please submit the details here, and we will investigate.”

However, the company did not release any clear information, but some reports suggest that his overselling practices led to his business earning $6.5 million in just eight months. Nevertheless, after the ban, it seems Blake Martinez could once again join his previous gridiron career with the Panthers.

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