When he arrived at the treatment room he interacted with the trainers and Gus, hoping they would give away a clue or something regarding his fate, but they said nothing. They treated his ankle and wished him luck. Perhaps they didn't know. Then, while he was about to head to the weight room to get a workout in, his running-back coach grabbed him and said the head coach wanted to see him in his office.

When they arrived, the head coach directed Martin and his running-back coach to have a seat. Martin's heart started pounding to the point it felt like it was going to come out of his chest. This was the end of the line, and Martin prepared himself for the worst. The head coach said, "I like what I saw from our running backs last night, Martin, but I really like what I saw from you last game. How's your ankle?" coach asked.

"Great," Martin said. "I'm ready to go. All healed up."

"Good," said Coach, "Because we're going to give you another week to see what you've got. I have to be honest with you, Martin. You're going to have to really show us more of what you showed us the other night if you're going to make this team. And you have to stay healthy. I don't want to give a roster spot to someone who's going to be injured all year."

"You won't have to worry about that," Martin said, jumping up and down on the inside.

"Excellent," coach said. "Well, as you know, today's a light day with no pads, and tomorrow begins more of the fun. So get ready to show us what you've got this week and we'll give you plenty of playing time this last preseason game. Then we'll both know if you're ready to play in this league."

"Thanks for the opportunity," Martin said as he walked toward the door. When he got outside he thanked and high-fived his running-back coach and ran to Coach Ken's office to talk about the news.