Nicholas Jacob Martin (born April 29, 1993) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Notre Dame and was drafted by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

in the second round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. Martin has also been a member of the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, and

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

Early years

Martin and his brother, Zack, attended Saint Matthew Catholic grade school, Indianapolis, Indiana, from kindergarten through eighth grade. Both Martins were products of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) football program from third grade to eighth grade.

High school career

Martin attended

Bishop Chatard High School Bishop Chatard High School is a Catholic co-educational preparatory high school located in the Broad Ripple district of Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States. It is named after Bishop Silas Chatard, who was the first Bishop A bishop is an ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. As a senior, he helped lead Bishop Chatard to the 2010 Indiana Class 3A state title. He was named a first-team Indiana all-state pick on the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

Class 3A team as offensive lineman. Considered a three-star recruit by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

'', he was rated as the 68th-best

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

prospect of his class. Originally committed to play

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Martin switched his commitment to Notre Dame.

College career

After his first two seasons as a reserve, Martin emerged as a starter in 2013, starting on the offensive line with his brother, Zack. Martin started 11 games, before sustaining a season-ending knee injury against

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

. Martin returned to form in 2014, and was a named a team captain. Martin started the first three games at center, before an injury to his snapping hand resulted in his move to

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

, where he started the remaining 10 games of the season. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

senior in 2015, Martin started all 13 games for the Irish, helping establish a running game that rushed for 207.6 yards per game, the highest since 1998.

Professional career

Houston Texans

The

selected Martin in the second round (50th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. On May 13, 2016, the Texans signed Martin to a four-year, $4.77 million rookie contract that includes $2.33 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $1.67 million. On August 25, 2016, he underwent ankle surgery and was ruled out for the entire 2016 season. On August 30, 2016, he was placed on injured reserve. Martin started the first 14 games of the season at center for the Texans before suffering an ankle injury in Week 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 19, 2017. On September 10, 2019, Martin signed a three-year, $33 million contract extension with $18.5 million guaranteed with the Texans. On February 26, 2021, Martin was released by the Texans.

Las Vegas Raiders

Martin signed with the

on March 24, 2021. He was named the backup center to

Andre James Andre James (born May 2, 1997) is an American football center for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UCLA. Early life and high school James grew up in South Jordan, Utah, and attended Herr ...

for the entire season.

New Orleans Saints

On July 26, 2022, Martin signed with the

. He was released on August 30, 2022 and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 10.

Washington Commanders

Martin signed a one-year contract with the

on September 20, 2022. Following

Wes Schweitzer Weston Robert Schweitzer (born September 11, 1993) is an American football center for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Jose State and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the si ...

being placed on injured reserve, Martin took over as the starting center in Week 4. Two weeks later, the Commanders relieved him of the starting role after activating

Tyler Larsen Tyler Larsen (born July 8, 1991) is an American football center for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah State. He signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2014 a ...

off the PUP list. In the Week 13 game against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, Martin subbed in for Larsen in the fourth quarter after the latter was carted off the field.

Personal life

Nick's older brother, Zack, is a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. His father Keith played

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for

in the early 1980s.

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Nick 1993 births Living people American football centers Houston Texans players Las Vegas Raiders players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Players of American football from Indianapolis New Orleans Saints players Washington Commanders players Bishop Chatard High School alumni