Mike McCarthy reveals exuberant reaction following end of Zack Martin's holdout
The only folks happier than Cowboys fans to hear the news of the end of Zack Martin‘s holdout on Monday were the Cowboys staffers in Oxnard.
On Tuesday, Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy revealed how the staff reacted upon learning that the team would increase the All-Pro’s salary by $8 million over two years, thereby bringing him to training camp for the first time this offseason.
“A lot of high fives and hugs all day and night yesterday once he got in,” McCarthy said, via Todd Archer. “Yeah, I think it showed what he means to us and what he means to our football team and I know especially the offense. But it is a business, you know? This is a part of our industry but we’re connecting and what we need to do to win and he’s a big part of that.”
With his salary increase, Martin is now the third-highest-paid guard in the league going into the 2023 season. It’s still not as much as Chris Lindstrom of the Falcons or Quenton Nelson of the Colts, but the deal is also fully guaranteed, which is a nice bonus for the almost 33-year-old.
Cowboys give up four sacks in preseason game without Martin
The Cowboys‘ loss versus the Jaguars revealed a possible area of concern for the offense on Saturday – the offensive line. McCarthy wouldn’t go so far as to call it a concern after the unit gave up four sacks in their first preseason game, but he called it a “focus.”
“It’s a focus,” McCarthy said, via Todd Archer. “Because you always like to get to a point in camp where you have your five guys that try to keep connected and get into a rhythm and so forth. We’re obviously not at that point.
“We have some veterans and we have some moving parts, so on the flip side of that it does create a lot of opportunity for our young players… This is good for us. I think this will pay dividends in the long run. At some point you do want to get into that routine of getting five guys working together.”
With Dallas sitting most starters versus the Jaguars, the starting offensive line was: LT Asim Richards, LG Matt Farniok, C Brock Hoffman, RG Josh Ball and RT Matt Waletzko.
With Martin back in the mix, the starting group of five, when the season starts, will likely be LT Tyron Smith, LG Tyler Smith, C Tyler Biadasz, RG Zack Martin and RT Terence Steele. If either starting tackle sustains an injury, the younger Smith could return to the tackle position with Ball or one of the other second-stringers filling in at left guard.