Raiders reportedly signing Blake Martinez to active roster

Well, that was fast.

NFL Media is reporting that the Las Vegas Raiders are signing linebacker Blake Martinez to the 53-man roster and he is expected to play Monday night at the Kansas City Chiefs. He was signed to the Raiders’ practice squad on Tuesday,

Perhaps one of the reasons why Martinez moved up so quickly is his familiarity with Raiders’ defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham. This is the third different time Martinez has played under Graham, who was Martinez’s position coach in 2018 and then he was Martinez’s defensive coordinator the past two seasons with the Giants.

Martinez, 28, is in his seventh NFL season. He has been a tackle machine. The Stanford product led the NFL with 144 tackles in Green Bay in 2017. In 2018, he also had 144 stops. In 2019, he had a career-high 155 tackles and he added 151 stops in 2020. He was injured most of last season and had just 23 tackles.

It is not known who will be removed from the 53-man roster to make room for Martinez. Also, ESPN is reporting that the Raiders are signing wide receiver Albert Wilson. It is not known if it is to the 53-man roster or the practice squad. But it would make sense if Wilson replaced Martinez on the practice squad

Wilson, 30, is in his eighth NFL season. He has played both for Kansas City and Miami and has 218 career receptions.