The Miami Dolphins announced Tuesday that they traded offensive lineman Jonathan Martin to the San Francisco 49ers. The compensation is only referred to as an "undisclosed draft choice," though at this point, it's hard to imagine Martin fetching more than a late-round pick. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported earlier that the Dolphins will receive a conditional pick.
Jonathan Martin traded to 49ers for conditional draft pick
The San Francisco 49ers have made another trade, this time for Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jonathan Martin.
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Martin will wrap up a rather tumultuous two-year stint with the Dolphins, the team that took him with a second-round selection (42nd overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft. Martin's rookie season was so-so, starting at right tackle and then switching over to the left when Jake Long sustained an injury. But his second year was marred by inconsistent play and an eventual departure from the team.
That departure occurred after Martin suffered an emotional breakdown due to a hostile situation within the Dolphins’ locker room. Multiple players and coaches reportedly created a hostile environment in which Martin was consistently and maliciously harassed, chiefly by fellow lineman Richie Incognito. The NFL and the NFL Players’ Association still have things to iron out with that situation, but Martin heading to San Francisco effectively closes that chapter of his career.
As for what comes next, that’s pretty unclear as well. The 49ers have a very, very strong locker room and the environment is clearly the right place for Martin, who will be fighting to shake off the controversy of last season. But San Francisco is not in need of a starting offensive tackle, which Martin still clearly has the skillset to be at this point.
Joe Staley is the team's left tackle, and he's signed through the 2017 season. Anthony Davis was also recently signed to a large extension, and is slated to be manning the right side of the line through the 2019 season. That leaves no room for Martin to start, barring injury. And that could be the plan, really. Beyond Staley and Davis, the 49ers have zero veteran offensive tackle backups beyond Adam Snyder.
Martin is a clear upgrade to Snyder, who was a question mark to return in 2014 regardless. There's also the possibility that the 49ers consider Martin a potential starter at the guard position. Mike Iupati, the team's starting left guard, has had some injury concerns in recent seasons and is set to hit the open market next year.
The team has already proven it is willing to put unconventional players in guard spots, as Alex Boone, who many considered too big to play guard, mans the right side and is one of the best in the NFL at doing so. So Martin could be effective there. Finally, the 49ers employ a lot of heavy sets in which they bring in extra offensive linemen. Last season, that was Snyder or Daniel Kilgore, but smart money is on Martin getting the call going forward.
This is the second trade for the 49ers Tuesday, as the team already sent a sixth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for Blaine Gabbert. The deals make sense, as there is no way the 49ers have 12 spots on the roster for rookies, so moving some of the late-round picks to acquire veterans, which the team did last year with Anquan Boldin, makes a lot of sense.
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