Kareem Martin (born February 19, 1992) is a former

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 wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. He had also played for the New York Giants.

High school

A native of

Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Roanoke Rapids () is a city in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 15,754 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Roanoke Rapids Micropolitan Statistical Area, and is also an anchor city of the Rocky Mo ...

, he attended

Roanoke Rapids High School Roanoke Rapids High School is a public high school in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Building history Roanoke Rapids High School opened in 1921. It was the brainchild of local industrialist Samuel Paterson and was intended to be the centerpiece ...

, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track. In football, Martin was twice named the area defensive player of the year and was named the

NCHSAA The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) is the governing organization of high school athletics in North Carolina, United States. The association maintains the official rule books and governs the officiating standards across ...

Athlete of the Year. As a senior, he helped lead Roanoke Rapids to an undefeated season and a conference title. He finished his senior season with 163 tackles, 10 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four sacks and one interception, and also had 25 tackles for a loss. He had 121 tackles and five sacks as a junior. In

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, Martin was one of the state's top performers in the jumping and hurdling events. He qualified for the state finals in the high jump by leaping 6 ft 6 in (1.99 m) at the 2010 NCHSAA 2A Mideast Regional. In addition, he also took 5th in the

110-meter hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

event in that same meet, recording a personal-best time of 15.84 second. At the NCHSAA 2A State Track Championship, he tied for 2nd place in the high jump, with a leap of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). 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 the 28th best weakside defensive end in the nation. Martin accepted a scholarship offer from

over offers from

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

and majored in Public Policy.

College career

As a true freshman in 2010, Martin played in 11 games, starting the first three games against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

. He capped off his season with 16 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, one pass breakup and two quarterback pressures. In 2011, he started all 13 games at defensive end. He finished the regular season with 40 tackles, seven tackles for losses, four sacks, one fumble recovery, six pass breakups and five quarterback hurries. In 2011, he started all 12 games and earned second-team All- ACC honors. He totaled 40 tackles, including 15.5 for loss, four sacks, eight quarterback hurries and three pass breakups. He also forced one fumble and recovered another. As a senior, he earned first-team All- ACC honors after finishing his season best for third on the team with 82 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Martin was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round (84th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.

New York Giants

On March 15, 2018, Martin signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the New York Giants with $7.5 million guaranteed. On September 11, 2019, Martin was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in week one against 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 divi ...

. He was designated for return from injured reserve on November 27, 2019, and began practicing with the team again. He was activated on December 7, 2019. On February 26, 2020, Martin was released from the Giants.

Detroit Lions

On September 15, 2020, Martin was signed to the Detroit Lions practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on December 12 and December 19 for the team's weeks 14 and 15 games against the Green Bay Packers and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. His contract expired when the teams season ended January 3, 2021.

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Kareem 1992 births Living people American football defensive ends Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players North Carolina Tar Heels football players People from Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina