Jonathan Martin can put the Richie Incognito saga behind him after the Dolphins reunited the offensive tackle with Jim Harbaugh by trading him to the 49ers on Tuesday night.
Martin, whose abrupt departure last October because of constant bullying from Incognito and other teammates set off a national firestorm that continues to reverberate, was obtained for an undisclosed 2015 pick conditional on how Martin performs.
The move not only gets Martin out of an ugly situation in Miami, but reunites him with Harbaugh, who was his college coach at Stanford. Harbaugh recently told Ted Wells, the NFL’s outside investigator into the bullying incident, he thought Martin could bounce back and still have a productive NFL career.
Assuming he makes the roster, Martin will be a backup in San Francisco at both tackle spots. The 49ers already boast one of the league’s best tandems of starting tackles in Joe Staley and former Rutgers standout Anthony Davis.