Tag: Zack Martin

Cowboys’ Zack Martin ‘didn’t ever take it personal’, met with Jerry Jones to hash out return

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 8x Pro Bowler says he never wanted to play for another team, but it took a one-on-one meeting with the owner to spark his new deal.

It’s not personal, as the old saying goes, it’s business.

But in the case of Zack Martin and the Cowboys, it took a very personal face-to-face meeting, one between the eight-time Pro Bowler and billionaire owner Jerry Jones, to get the business of a reworked contract done and the right guard back to training camp just 26 days before the season opener against New York.

“He was great,” Martin said of Jones, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. Martin spoke just after arriving in Oxnard, Calif. on Monday night, following his three-week holdout over pay. “We were able to have that one-on-one time, and I think that helped, just being able to talk face-to-face. I think ultimately that’s what made me feel more comfortable and how he felt more comfortable, and then we started talking about this and numbers and where we eventually headed.”

Where they headed was a deal that fully guarantees Martin $18 million in 2023 and then again in 2024. He goes from the league’s eighth-highest-paid guard to third, despite a reputation around the NFL as tops at the position.

“I just think I’ve been here a long time. I’ve accomplished some great things but just felt like, where I was in the market, that it’s something that had been deserved and felt strongly about it,” said Martin. “Obviously, it took a little time, but I’m super grateful to the Joneses. Once we started talking and having that connection, we were able to figure something out that worked for both of us.”

But Martin’s new deal didn’t come easily. Or cheaply. He was fined $50,000 per day for each day of training camp he missed, resulting in a loss of $1 million that cannot be rescinded or waived by the Cowboys.

Many outside the organization feared that the team was playing a high-stakes game of chicken with the Notre Dame product. Jones himself seemed to take an early hardball stance, even making public comments that suggested the team wouldn’t even entertain a pay raise for the six-time first-team All-Pro.

Martin took those headlines and soundbites from his boss in stride.

“Someone talked to me and was like, ‘When you step in the ring, you’ve got to be ready for whatever,'” Martin said. “I didn’t ever take it personal. He’s got to say what he’s got to say. I tried to stay quiet during it and never wanted this to be a media back and forth. I think he appreciated that.”

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Martin now looks to be on track to start the regular season for Dallas. He had been working hard with private offensive lineman trainer Duke Manyweather in Frisco during his holdout, but Martin admits it will take a little time for him to re-acclimate to full football speed.

“I feel pretty confident in the shape I’m in,” Martin said, “Hopefully a week, two weeks, I’ll start feeling good and start feeling like I’m ready to rock.”

What never changed was Martin’s desire to keep wearing the star.

“I never wanted to play anywhere else,” he explained. “And that’s when I’d get some anxiety or have a rough day during this thinking about that. That’s what it came down to: I don’t want to play anywhere else. I don’t want to play for another organization. I don’t want to move my family and was just hoping that something would get done, and luckily we were able to get together and figure it out.”

It wasn’t personal; it was business.

But Cowboys fans everywhere are taking it personal today, ecstatic now that one of their top-tier superstars is finally back in the fold.

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Martin’s return immediately changes Cowboys OL from weakness to strength

It’s not often one single player can have such an enormous effect across an entire unit but that’s what Zack Martins does for the Cowboys. | From @ReidDHanson

If there was one dominating concern on the Cowboys roster over the first three weeks of training camp, it’s been the depth of the offensive line, with all due respect to the kicker situation, of course. The starting ranks were solid. Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin and Terence Steele looked great across the top of the depth chart.

But behind them things appeared to get ugly, fast. That’s why Martin’s three-week holdout hurt so much. It forced the Cowboys to pull from their depth, and the depth in Dallas has largely been a troubling sight.

While the future could still be bright for talented young players like Asim Richards and Matt Waletzko, neither player seem ready to plug into a starting role in the present. Josh Ball doesn’t appear to be starting quality and the top free agent signing for the line, Chuma Edoga, looks less than ideal at either guard or tackle.

With the exception of possibly Matt Farniok and Brock Hoffman, every non-starter on the roster looks like they’d be a significant liability if forced to play regular season snaps in 2023. Obviously, there’s still time to change that this preseason, but most will agree the early returns have been disappointing.

With news Martin has agreed to a new deal that pays him nearly $9 million more and keeps him in Dallas for the foreseeable future, those fears and concerns fly out the window.

Not to be disrespectful to the backups, but the delta between Martin and his potential replacement at RG is enormous.

The reinsertion of Martin also makes a positive impact across the line. At center, Biadasz is a good player, but he’s not a dominating force. Having two strong players next to him in Tyler Smith and Martin makes his job so much easier than if he had to babysit an overmatched replacement at RG.

Steele and Martin recently combined to form one of the most dominating run-blocking tandems in the NFL last season. Yet, the Cowboys witnessed firsthand what happens when half of that tandem goes missing (the running game fell off a cliff after Steele was injured in 2022).

Speaking of Steele, the fourth-year RT is a great run-blocker, but average to below-average as a pass protector. Having an elite pass protector like Martin next to him helps immensely. If either Farniok or Ball had to start at RG, Steele wouldn’t just be asked to handle his own business, but he’d have to help whoever was starting next to him.

The Cowboys still have the depth concerns they had before but that’s a future Cowboys problem, not a right-now Cowboys problem. The hope remains between today and kickoff in Week 1, one or two young players will have stepped up enough to where the Cowboys feel better about surviving a loss in the starting lineup.

With Martin out of the lineup, the Cowboys offensive line was a legitimate weakness and an injury away from being a disaster. With Martin back in the fold, the Cowboys are built to dominate. There’s less pressure on the backups to be something they aren’t yet and more optimism about what the offense can accomplish as a whole.

Can one player really make that much of a difference?

If that player is Martin, he sure can.

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The Cowboys gave Zack Martin his desired raise after seeing how bleak life would be without him

And he’s definitely still underpaid.

Whenever the legendary Zack Martin finally decides to hang up his shoulder pads, he will be unquestionably be remembered as one of the greatest offensive lineman in NFL history. Martin’s been so good for so long with the Dallas Cowboys that he will likely walk into Canton in the future.

On Monday, the Cowboys gave star guard Zack Martin an $8.5 million overall raise. He will now make $18 million in each of the next two seasons. And it will likely go down as the most sensible move of the entire offseason.

Why?

After a contentious contract negotiation situation that saw Martin hold out from Dallas’s preseason activities, the Cowboys had a vested interest in giving their arguably best player what he deserves. Or, at the very least, they just saw how their backup guards “blocked” against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Not that the Cowboys should’ve needed this reminder, but their team and their aspirations for the Super Bowl just aren’t the same without a perennial All-Pro mashing bodies up front:

Martin quickly reacted to the news of his raise:

Since 2019, when the recent Cowboys offense really took off with Dak Prescott as the centerpiece, Martin has been indispensable to Dallas’s offensive exploits. According to ESPN Analytics, Dallas has averaged six yards per play with Martin on the field and has had a stellar 58 percent pass block win rate. Without Martin, those numbers drop to 4.9 yards per play and just a meager 42 percent pass block win rate.

Martin is also the definition of an ironman workhorse. Over the course of his entire nine-year career to this stage, the veteran has missed just 10 starts. He’s played in a full season’s slate of games seven times. That is remarkable at a position that takes as much punishment and energy as an interior offensive lineman.

Dallas made the right choice keeping Martin happy. It also had no other choice if it wanted to maintain status as an NFC heavyweight.

BREAKING: Zack Martin to end holdout, reaches new deal with Cowboys

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 8-time Pro Bowler and the club reportedly reached a deal that will pay him over $18 million, fully guaranteed, in both 2023 and 2024.

The Cowboys and right guard Zack Martin have agreed to terms on a reworked contract that will pay him $18 million-plus in 2023 and 2024, with both years full guaranteed.

The news was first reported Monday afternoon by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. Martin himself confirmed via social media that his holdout, which hit 21 days on Monday, is ending.

“Back to Work,” the former first-round draft pick posted.

Martin, 32, lost $1 million in fines by not reporting to Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, unhappy with a contract that was set to pay the eight-time Pro Bowler just $13.5 million this year and $14 million next year. Those figure ranked well below the salaries of several other guards around the league who are not nearly as decorated or dominant.

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Some of Martin’s teammates may have suspected that No. 70 would be reporting soon.

After Monday’s walkthrough practice. defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was asked if he found it strange to be at camp without Martin, who was in his draft class of 2014.

“Yes and no,” Lawrence replied, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. “A lot of my training camps, I’ve been on the sideline, so I haven’t been able to be in action like I was this year. But I know what’s up, man. Zack’s going to be OK. The Cowboys [are] going to be OK. And I’ll see him soon.”

Real soon, it sounds like, much to the delight of Cowboys Nation.

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Former Notre Dame star Zack Martin has a new deal with the Dallas Cowboys

Zack is getting paid!

The Dallas Cowboys understood how important former Notre Dame football star [autotag]Zack Martin[/autotag] is to their offense and after thinking about not heading to camp, the Cowboys have reworked the guard’s deal.

Martin will earn over $8 million dollars in his new deal, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the All-Pro was set to earn $13.5 million this year and $14 million next season. Under the new deal, Martin is going to be paid north of $18 million per campaign over the next two years.

The new deal puts the former Irish star into the top earners in the league at his position, behind only three other players according to spotrac.com’s NFL salary rankings.

One of those players also suited up off for Notre Dame in Indianapolis Colt’s guard [autotag]Quenton Nelson[/autotag] giving the Irish two of the top four paid guard’s in the NFL.

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Zack Martin holdout fines reach milestone, but at least Cowboys RG isn’t Nick Bosa

An update on Zack Martin’s holdout, how it compares to another star NFL player and personal thoughts on the entire ordeal. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys offensive line is clearly missing Zack Martin, even if Saturday’s performance would have been the same even if the guard wasn’t holding out. Martin is seeking a pay raise after completing his eighth Pro Bowl and sixth All-Pro season in nine years in the league. He has two years remaining on his contract, but is barely in the top-10 of interior linemen salaries across the league.

On Saturday, he missed the club’s opening preseason game, but as the star veteran he is, he wasn’t going to suit up anyway. Still, the performance of his potential replacements only adds to the narrative that Martin deserves what he’s asking for. On Sunday, his holdout reached a huge milestone that even if only symbolic, helps to show just how serious the riff is currently.

Notre Dame football announces their 4 captains for the 2023 season

The four are set for the Irish

It’s a right of passage at many schools to be named a captain and it’s no different for [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag].

The Irish have a storied tradition in South Bend and many of the luminary players were once named captain. Previous players like [autotag]Brady Quinn[/autotag], [autotag]Zack Martin[/autotag], [autotag]Knute Rockne[/autotag], and [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] have all been named Notre Dame captain.

The 2023 season will feature four captain, two players on each side of the ball. It’s a bit different from last season, where six different players were captains at one point during the year.

Find out below which four were named Notre Dame captain for this coming season.

Cowboys reportedly ‘dug in’ on Zack Martin contract holdout

Zack Martin’s holdout continues and according to one prominent Cowboys insider, the Cowboys are dug in on their position in negotiations. | From @ReidDHanson

“Dug in” is a phrase no one wants to hear during a negotiation. In fact, such a phrase indicates the absence of negotiation and end of discussion. In this case it indicates the Cowboys are no longer at the table with their All-Pro holdout, Zack Martin.

Martin, 32, was a surprise holdout for the Cowboys this summer. Presumably preoccupied with the pending contracts of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs (since has been completed), Malik Hooker (since has been completed), and more, Dallas likely wasn’t giving their top linemen the attention he felt he deserved.

As arguably the best guard in the NFL, Martin certainly has a valid argument as to why he deserves a raise. With an average yearly salary of $14 million, Martin is now just the eighth highest paid guard in the league. His deal voids in 2025, making his long-term future somewhat undetermined.

Showing no signs of slowing down, Martin is a player the Cowboys can feel fairly good about extending. His cap cost in 2024 balloons to a $23,340,000 figure so it stands to reason the Cowboys would be wise to offer an extension. Adding time can spread the cap cost and make his annual hit more digestible.  Yet, the two sides are at odds at the moment and resolution does not appear within sight.

Cowboys insider Bryan Broaddus recently spoke of the Zack Martin situation on his Love of the Star podcast and stated, “They are dug in. They are really dug in,” when discussing the conversations he’s had regarding the Cowboys’ current stance towards Martin.

When Martin signed his six-year, $84 million extension in 2018 it made him the highest paid guard in the NFL. As is the nature of all positions not named running back, the market has grown, and Martin’s once market-setting contract is now just inside the top-10.

At a rate of $50,000 in fines per day, Martin has accumulated over $600,000 in penalties this summer. Financially, things are moving in the wrong direction for Martin.

Things aren’t sunshine and rainbows for the Cowboys either. Their offensive line depth has been underwhelming this summer. Young options like Matt Waletzko, Josh Ball and Chuma Odoga have been disappointing in many ways and don’t appear to be viable alternatives for Martin.

Matt Farniok, Martin’s expected replacement at RG, has been adequate but the disparity between the two players is understandably significant.

The Cowboys are likely playing hardball at the moment because they can. They can recoup up to $9,340,000 of his signing bonus proration in addition to the mounting daily fines. They also know Martin is the type of player who can hit the ground running, meaning they aren’t worried about his play slipping because of a holdout.

The Cowboys are dug in at the moment but it’s not hard to see a win-win solution in the future. Turning 2025 from a void year to a guaranteed year could put more money in Martin’s pocket and ease the cap charge for Dallas in 2024.

Whatever the solution, the Cowboys are a much better team with Martin on the field, making him an important piece for their win-now season.

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‘Zero concerns’: McCarthy not worried about Cowboys RG Zack Martin’s readiness

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 8x-Pro Bowler’s absence is now in its 10th day, despite texting his linemates, “Y’all set the tone, I’ll be there soon.”

The Cowboys have been in Oxnard for just over a week. Thursday’s practice- the longest yet of this year’s training camp- was to be the team’s third session with pads and an important building block in the foundation that the team is trying to lay with a new offensive play-caller, several new members of the coaching staff, and new players up and down the roster.

But despite the cornerstone of the offensive line entering the 10th day of his contract holdout, head coach Mike McCarthy maintains he’s not worried about Zack Martin’s absence.

“I have zero concerns about Zack,” McCarthy told reporters during a press conference Thursday. “Everything that we’re doing here now, Zack already has. Zack will be just fine.”

The six-time first-team All-Pro has elected not to join the team in Oxnard as of yet, unhappy with where he sits on the pay scale relative to the other top offensive guards around the league.

The 32-year-old is staying busy and keeping himself in shape, though. A video shared recently on social media by OL Masterminds shows Martin working out with the organization’s Duke Manyweather in Texas.

And second-year lineman Tyler Smith revealed to media members that Martin is in regular contact with his linemates via text. His message to the group?

“Y’all set the tone, I’ll be there soon.”

Mike Solari, the veteran offensive line coach entering his first year in that role for the Cowboys would certainly prefer to have Martin in his usual spot, but he’s making the best of the situation by giving younger players valuable practice reps.

“We want Zack here, but it’s part of the business,” Solari said per the team website. “It gives another man an opportunity to get reps in practice and develop. They’re all competing and working hard. The best five will start, and they’ll define that role. It’s a good group.”

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Josh Ball, the 2021 fourth-round draft pick, and Matt Farniok, a seventh-rounder from that same rookie class, have seen time at right guard in place of Martin. And while their continued development at camp is a good thing, no one- especially quarterback Dak Prescott- wants either of them to have to line up on Sept. 10 when the Cowboys face the Giants to open the regular season.

Like McCarthy, Prescott should have no real concerns about Martin being ready for Week 1 whenever he and the front office settle their staring contest.

But No. 4 was succinct when he was asked about getting his most valuable protector back in the huddle.

“Pay the man.”

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7 Cowboys in NFL 100 list, where will Micah Parsons land?

Numbers 100 through 21 have been revealed and the only question left is where the Cowboys’ best player will end up. A look at the seven members and how they earned their rankings. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Last December, seven different Cowboys were named to the 2023 Pro Bowl, based on their performance during the season. Dallas marched to a second consecutive 12-win campaign and to do so meant that there was plenty of individual talent leading the way on the team effort. As the Pro Bowl is a mixture of fan, player and coaches vote, it’s no surprise the NFL 100 list comprised of player opinions, would somewhat mirror the Pro Bowl.

The only question is where players would land within the ranking and if there would be any surprises. Not surprisingly, kick returner Kavontae Turpin did not carry his Pro Bowl nomination over to the top 100. Turpin didn’t do much else last season, as he missed the installation portion of the offseason and wasn’t much of a contributor on offense. He was replaced though, as Dallas still managed to get seven players in the list, and now that No.s 100 through 21 have been revealed, the last remaining question is how high will edge rusher Micah Parsons land.