There are several things that young people can dream of, and one of them certainly is an NFL career for many young people. But that is a dream that went awry for the former Stanford Cardinal Jonathan Martin. As his route through the NFL was anything but a dream.

If you recognize the name Jonathan Martin, it is probably for one thing and one thing only. He was a member of the Miami Dolphins and was the one that was the reported target of Richie Incognito, now a member of the Buffalo Bills, and Mike Pouncey, fellow members of his offensive line. He was hazed and threatened, and the players verbally abused Martin, and that is something that no one deserves to have to deal with. Let's face it, bullying becomes an even bigger societal issues as it has gone from something that happens on the playground, to something that happens behind a screen of a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

But there was a second chance for him still coming, because he did have strong talent, as he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers and was then reunited with his collegiate coach in Jim Harbaugh. It's quite clear that things did not go as well as they were hoping for San Francisco during the 2014 season. As they not only didn't go to the NFC Championship Game, but he didn't even lead them into the playoffs. Plus, once it was December, all the rumors of Harbaugh leaving to go to the Michigan Wolverines kept flying and circling the team.

So after a rough season with the 49ers, things were hopefully going to improve this year under new Head Coach Jim Tomsula. But in late March, the 49ers cut him from the team, and he was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers just a few days later. He never has played a snap for the Panthers, but with the threat of back surgery, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, he decided to be like many of his teammates from 2014, such as Chris Borland and Patrick Willis, and take the opportunity to retire.

Obviously this is not the way that many dreams go. Jonathan Martin would not have wished for this to happen to anyone. He made it into the NFL as a second round draft pick, and never made it into a good place for himself. Miami was bad for him emotionally, San Francisco was merely a circus, and then he clearly was too hurt to play in 2015 for the Panthers. Yours truly is wishing the young man all the best as he still has a lot of life ahead of him at just 25 years of age, and hopefully he will be able to find a place and an industry that will serve him well for the other wishes and dreams that he has.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Caleb Wahlgren
I will not deny that I am a big fan of the Green Bay Packers. But I love the NFL and want to see the very best for it.