Among the many text messages included in Friday’s release of Ted Wells’ report on the Dolphins was a list of pros and cons to playing football that Martin sent to a friend while he “seriously contemplated suicide” in May after enduring what he described as abuse from Richie Incognito and others on the team’s offensive line.
Things obviously didn’t get much better for Martin, who wound up hospitalized briefly to be treated for emotional distress after leaving the Dolphins. All of that hasn’t been enough to make the cons on his list win out, however. His agent Kenny Zuckerman told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that Martin has dealt with any emotional issues and wants to play in 2014.
“He has taken the necessary steps to get back on the field,” Zuckerman said. “Jon called me on Wednesday, said he ‘can’t wait to play again. I’ll play anywhere for anyone.'”
Where he’ll play is one of the chapters of this story that remains to be written, but a return to the Dolphins may be dicey. Owner Stephen Ross intimated that Martin would not be back in 2014 and Mike Pouncey and John Jerry were both accused of engaging in harassment alongside Incognito in the report, although Jerry and Incognito are both free agents this offseason.