During an interview, Williams unexpectedly shared that 49ers rookie linebacker Nick Martin had broken his thumb while lifting weights. It seems like the 49ers would have preferred to keep this information private.
“Shout out to Nick Martin, my new teammate,” Williams said. “He’s an East Texas guy from Texarkana, and he’s already making plays. He broke his thumb lifting weights, which is a bit of a mystery, but we won’t get into that. I’m excited to see him and can’t wait for his success in the NFL. He’s going to be a great player.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Martin broke his thumb a few weeks ago but didn’t miss any practices or need surgery, so he should be fully ready for training camp next month. This news doesn’t seem too serious.
The 49ers picked Martin in the third round to take over for Dre Greenlaw, who signed a three-year contract with the Denver Broncos this offseason. At the last moment, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan went to Greenlaw’s home in an effort to match Denver’s offer and persuade him to stay, but they were unsuccessful. This shows how valuable Greenlaw was to the defense.
This puts a lot of pressure on Martin to perform right away. While breaking his thumb isn’t ideal news, Trent Williams’ support is very encouraging. As a future Hall of Famer, Williams believes that Martin will become a great player.
Williams wouldn’t say that if he didn’t truly believe it.
