{"id":324714,"date":"2025-08-28T18:07:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T18:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/324714\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T18:07:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T18:07:11","slug":"it-was-destined-ul-footballs-keyon-martin-makes-baltimore-ravens-53-man-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/324714\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;It was destined&#8217;: UL football&#8217;s Keyon Martin makes Baltimore Ravens&#8217; 53-man roster"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Just days before Louisiana football kicks off the 2025 college football season this Saturday, one of it\u2019s own has solidified himself on the next level.<\/p>\n<p>Former Ragin\u2019 Cajuns cornerback Keyon Martin earned a spot on the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/baltimore-ravens\/366\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Baltimore Ravens;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u2019 53-man roster after signing on as an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverday I step in this building, I know that I\u2019m beating the odds and its a blessing,\u201d Martin said in the Ravens\u2019 press conference after making the team. \u201cIt was destined for me to be with the Ravens. The scouting, they seen something in the way that I play aggressive, fast, twitchy and a very instinctive football player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, whatever Martin lacks in size, he makes up for in heart and football IQ. As one of eight other undrafted free agents UL football players that signed with an NFL team this past NFL Draft period, Martin stood out during spring, fall and preseason while in Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>During preseason play, Martin showed flashes of what he do for the Ravens any given Sunday, kicking off his NFL career with a pick six in their 30-3 victory over the <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/washington-commanders\/363\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Washington Commanders;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Washington Commanders<\/a> on Aug. 23. Martin ended that game with five total tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass deflection, showing out his NFL debut.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO - DECEMBER 28: Cornerback Keyon Martin #21 of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns forces a fumble against running back Trent Battle #17 of the TCU Horned Frogs during the first half of the Isleta New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium on December 28, 2024 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Photo by Sam Wasson\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/c0d3b545bfc5c8ad01a2361e73b42427.jpeg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO &#8211; DECEMBER 28: Cornerback Keyon Martin #21 of the Louisiana Ragin&#8217; Cajuns forces a fumble against running back Trent Battle #17 of the TCU Horned Frogs during the first half of the Isleta New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium on December 28, 2024 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Photo by Sam Wasson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>He continued to be a hound in the secondary in the Ravens\u2019 other two preseason games against the Dallas Cowboys and <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/indianapolis-colts\/338\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Indianapolis Colts;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Indianapolis Colts<\/a>. Against the Cowboys, Martin blasted quarterback Joe Milton III for a big-time sack for a safety en route to a 31-13 Ravens victory. Martin also racked up four tackles for loss and finished with an opponent passer rating of 13.4.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Martin is the latest former Cajun to make it to the NFL and is among seven who made a 53-man roster this season, joining Percy Butler (Commanders), Kevin Dotson (<a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/los-angeles-rams\/343\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Rams;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Rams<\/a>), Robert Hunt (<a href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/nfl\/teams\/carolina-panthers\/364\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Panthers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Panthers<\/a>), Elijah Mitchell (Chiefs), Max Mitchell (Jets) and Nate Thomas (Cowboys).<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">REQUIRED READING: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theadvertiser.com\/story\/sports\/college\/ul\/2025\/08\/27\/how-to-watch-louisiana-rice-football-in-week-1-of-college-football\/85776939007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:What channel is Louisiana- Rice football game on? Time, TV, streaming info for Week 1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">What channel is Louisiana- Rice football game on? Time, TV, streaming info for Week 1<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">REQUIRED READING: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theadvertiser.com\/story\/sports\/high-school\/football\/2025\/08\/28\/acadiana-high-school-football-lhsaa-aims-to-win-the-trenches-this-season\/85777008007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Battle in the trenches: Acadiana High School football preparing for physical season;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Battle in the trenches: Acadiana High School football preparing for physical season<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Shannon Belt covers high school sports, the Louisiana Ragin\u2019 Cajuns and LSU men&#8217;s basketball for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS\/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theadvertiser.com\/story\/sports\/nfl\/2025\/08\/28\/former-ragin-cajun-keyon-martin-makes-baltimore-ravens-53-man-roster\/85866040007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Former Ragin&#039; Cajun Keyon Martin makes Baltimore Ravens&#039; 53-man roster;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Former Ragin&#8217; Cajun Keyon Martin makes Baltimore Ravens&#8217; 53-man roster<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just days before Louisiana football kicks off the 2025 college football season this Saturday, one of it\u2019s own&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324715,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,346,257,5407,7,59859,392,226,5646,25023,1133,34902,6,236,424,169,59860,3454,2850,2821,111],"class_list":{"0":"post-324714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-ravens","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-baltimoreravens","11":"tag-chiefs","12":"tag-dallas-cowboys","13":"tag-elijah-mitchell","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-football-kicks","16":"tag-indianapolis-colts","17":"tag-jets","18":"tag-joe-milton-iii","19":"tag-kevin-dotson","20":"tag-martin","21":"tag-max-mitchell","22":"tag-nfl","23":"tag-panthers","24":"tag-rams","25":"tag-ravens","26":"tag-rice-football","27":"tag-robert-hunt","28":"tag-the-ravens","29":"tag-undrafted-free-agent","30":"tag-washington-commanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115107728216051074","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}