Former NFL player Jonathan Martin must stand trial on criminal threat charges stemming from a 2018 Instagram post, a Los Angeles judge ruled Wednesday.

According to The New York Daily News, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shellie Samuels said in court that the post — which featured a photo of a shotgun and 19 shells, and a mention of "revenge" — was specific enough to constitute a viable threat.

"Nineteen shells is a mass shooting, killing more than one person, revenge," the judge said, according to the newspaper. "I think that’s unequivocal enough (under the law) to be a criminal threat."

Martin posted the picture to Instagram in February 2018 with the caption, "When you’re a bully victim & a coward, your options are suicide or revenge." The post also included hashtags for his former school, Harvard-Westlake, and former team, the Miami Dolphins, as well as social media handles belonging to four former teammates, including Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey.

The Instagram post led Harvard-Westlake, a private high school in a suburb of Los Angeles, to close for the day. Martin was soon detained at a hospital, where he was seeking treatment, and later arrested on criminal threat charges. He pleaded not guilty.

Martin faces three felony counts of making criminal threats and a single misdemeanor count of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle. A fourth criminal threat charge was dismissed Wednesday, Los Angeles District Attorney's Office spokesperson Greg Risling confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

Martin's attorney, Winston McKesson, told The Los Angeles Times that his client's post was not a threat but rather "a cry for help."

Martin, 29, accused teammate Incognito of bullying him when both men were members of the Dolphins in 2013. Incognito was suspended as a result of the allegations, and Martin later left the team; he last played in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in 2014.

Martin is due to next appear in court Jan. 30, according to multiplereports.

Contributing: A.J. Perez

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.