The Green Bay Packers waived running back Damien Martinez as they set their initial 53-man roster Sunday, ending his bid to stick with the team after a preseason in which he ran 16 times for 60 yards and caught one pass for 1 yard.
Martinez spent 2024 at Miami after two seasons at Oregon State and ran for 1,002 yards and 10 touchdowns on 6.3 yards per carry for the Hurricanes. At Oregon State he ran for 982 yards as a freshman and 1,185 yards as a sophomore.
The Packers are releasing RB Damien Martinez, per source. pic.twitter.com/PrfhE7CkiM
— Easton Butler (@Easton__Butler) August 30, 2026
Green Bay Packers waive RB Damien Martinez
Martinez signed a reserve/future contract with Green Bay in January after finishing 2025 on the Packers' practice squad. Seattle took him in the seventh round of the 2025 draft at No. 223, waived him at the end of that camp, and put him on the practice squad.
Green Bay eventually signed him off the street in late December, and then gave him a futures deal in January so he could compete through a full offseason of work.
The NFL placed Josh Jacobs on the commissioner's exempt list, which essentially means that he is paid but cannot practice or play, and does not count against the 53-man roster while the league reviews his legal situation. The decision followed two misdemeanor charges, battery and criminal damage to property, from a late May arrest. Only the league decides how long he stays there, and until then, Green Bay has no access to its featured back on the practice field or on Sundays and had to set the 53 without him.
The Packers traded a 2028 sixth-round pick to Pittsburgh for Kaleb Johnson. He is a 2025 third-round pick who ran for 69 yards (2.5 yards per carry) as a rookie, and kept MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks as the other backs.
Add us as a preferred source on Google