EAGAN, Minn. — Greer Martini is relishing a second chance to be in the NFL.
The Vikings linebacker is one of nine players at his position in training camp, but it's his second time in an NFL camp.
He joined Green Bay's roster as an undrafted free agent in the spring of 2018 and spent time on the Packers practice squad, but he was eventually released.
Martini then caught on with the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football. The upstart league folded earlier this year after eight games, but the experience did lead to Martini joining the Vikings this spring.
"I had been with Green Bay last year, but then I got cut," Martini said. "Nothing panned out for me, so the dream of the NFL, the only way I could continue it was to get out and get more film.
"The AAF provided me with that kind of film so that I could get exposed and try to get back in the league," Martini added. "Obviously the AAF was monumental in helping me get here."
Martini tied for fifth in the AAF with 55 tackles in eight games, and he also recorded a sack and an interception.
"In the AAF, I was allowed to be the guy, so I was running the defense and played a lot of snaps," Martini said. "That's always great as a football player to get the reps and in-game situations and make some plays. It felt good."
Martini played collegiately at Notre Dame, where he was a team captain as a senior in 2017. He was born in in Cary, North Carolina, but attended high school at Woodbury Forest in Virginia.
Here are three other topics that Martini covered with Vikings.com:
1. What have you learned from Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks?
"I think it's their consistency. Every single day, you get the same Kendricks and the same Barr. To see those guys come out and perform at a high level day-in and day-out, it's pretty special."
2. What is your biggest asset you bring to the field?
"My biggest asset is that I'm a great communicator, and I make the plays when I need to make them. I feel like I bring a stability."
3. You're big into fly fishing … what do you love about that hobby?
"It's something that my dad just loved, and it's something he passed onto me. We'd go out to Idaho, to Wood River out there. Some of my favorite summer days have been out there with my dad and brother. With a fly fishing reel, you're constantly pulling out the slack and actually drawing it back and throwing it in and out. It's a little bit more technical fishing.
What's the biggest fish you've ever caught?
"Fly fishing … probably a good 24-inch rainbow trout out in Idaho."
