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:
…Dallas got a good look at life with backup OGs
Picked up that phone pretty quick. pic.twitter.com/cU6BSpCruf
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) August 14, 2023
Martin quickly reacted to the news of his raise:
Back to Work.
— Zack Martin (@thegob70) August 14, 2023
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.