Brodric Martin’s Lions career hasn’t quite gone to plan through so far. Martin, who the Lions drafted in the 3rd round (No. 96 overall) of the 2023 Draft, has only appeared in *five* games so far. He appeared in three games – starting two – in his rookie season, and then only two last year.
Some of it has been injury related, but there have been more than enough healthy scratches already to make fans wonder if Martin really has any future with the Lions after all. With Detroit *probably* in the market for some defensive line help in the draft later this month, it’s not unreasonable to think that maybe Brad Holmes and the rest of the Lions’ front office may already have plans to move on from Martin.
And that speculation certainly didn’t get any quieter last week, when Holmes was asked about Martin’s role while at the annual NFL Owner’s meetings. His answer was, uh, telling.
It sure seems like the clock’s ticking on Brodric Martin’s time with the Lions
“Obviously, you guys all know I was very clear and transparent that, you know, he was more in the developmental project bucket when we took him,” Holmes said. “But you know, now it’s time for him not to just — because he brought flashes in the preseason. When he came (back) from his injury. he brought flashes, but you know, he had some low points as well. We need to see more of the consistency of the flashes and he just needs to be a consistent player. And he knows that. We’ve had transparent conversations, and so, he knows that he needs to be a consistent player. He’s got all the ability, he’s got all the physical tools to be a consistent player.”
I guess the optimist would just view this as a way to light a fire under an under-performing player during the offseason, but I dunno. I try to be an optimist as often as possible and I’m having a hard time framing it that way. This reads *exactly* like a GM who’s already made his mind up. All the “he knows this stuff already” is saying the quiet part out loud.
It sounds like the Brodric Martin era may be ending before it ever really got started. We’ll always have those two starts.
