Giants activate Blake Martinez, place Todd Davis on Reserve/Retired list

08/03/2021

blake martinez todd davis giants reserve/retired list — Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Linebacker Blake Martinez is back with the Giants following his recent placement on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Following last week’s placement on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, the Giants‘ starting inside linebacker is back with the team and practicing in pads. However, he will be limited as part of a ramp-up period.

The Giants also activated safety Joshua Kalu off the COVID list; they placed Kalu on this list the same time they did Martinez.

Roster Updates: LB Blake Martinez and DB Joshua Kalu have been activated. WR Derrick Dillon has been placed on the Reserve/Injured list and LB Todd Davis has been placed on the Reserve/Retired list.

— New York Giants (@Giants) August 3, 2021

Both LB Blake Martinez and rookie WR Kadarius Toney are in pads and will do some limited work at Giants practice today.

— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) August 3, 2021

Martinez was back with the team this past Saturday but hadn’t been activated until Tuesday. During his time on the COVID list, he needed to take part in meetings from a virtual setting.

In other linebacker-related news, the Giants have actually placed Todd Davis on the Reserve/Retired list. The team just signed Davis this past Saturday amid the absences of Martinez and Reggie Ragland, who’s currently on the Non-Football Injury list.

It’s unclear why Davis has decided to retire from the game of football so soon after joining the Giants.

The linebacker was to potentially provide a strong Giants defense with reliable depth. The 29-year-old won Super Bowl 50 with Denver and racked up 114 and 134 total tackles for the Broncos in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

He’s not the first player to exit this training camp — wide receiver-turned-tight end Kelvin Benjamin walked off the practice field last Wednesday (the first full-team training camp practice of the year) following a conversation with Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge.

Benjamin and the head coach apparently had a dispute due to the former showing up to camp overweight. The Giants cut Kelvin later that day.