After the San Francisco 49ers lost their star linebacker Fred Warner to a season-ending ankle injury, it seemed only logical that rookie linebacker Nick Martin would see a lot more action.
That has not been the case as the rookie has continued to be iced out.
Martin has only suited up for San Francisco's last two games and has not seen much action at all. He had an assisted tackle in Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons but was not on the field at all in Week 8 against the Houston Texans.
What accounts for him being almost completely iced out this season?
Part of it has to do with the fact that he plays a different position than Fred Warner. Martin is a weak-side linebacker, while Warner is a middle linebacker who is the leader of the defense. Tatum Bethune trains and practices as a middle linebacker, which is why he was the next man up rather than Martin.
At the weak-side spot, Martin has both Dee Winters and Curtis Robinson ahead of him on the depth chart. Winters has looked fairly solid this year, but he had to leave the game with a knee injury against Houston and may miss some practice this week.
Maybe this will open the door for Martin to get some more reps in practice and prove what he can do. That is the only way he is going to prove to the coaching staff that he belongs out there during actual games, so maybe this is the opportunity he needs.
Martin was a solid player in college at Oklahoma State and was selected by the Niners in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft despite missing most of his final year due to injury.
He struggled in the preseason at first for San Francisco as he missed tackles left and right, but by the end of the preseason, he had turned things around and looked to be in a better place. Niners legend NaVorro Bowman even sang Martin's praises ahead of the team's final preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The potential is clearly there, it just seems that Martin is a bit unrefined and needs more time to turn himself into a reliable pro.
But with all of the injuries San Francisco has sustained this season, it seems like just a matter of time until his number is called and the 49ers will be forced to rely upon him.