The Cowboys have officially exercised their 2018 fifth-year option on guard Zack Martin, the club announced today. The option will be worth $9.341MM, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.
The decision comes as no surprise, given that Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones said in January Dallas planned to pick up the option. Martin, 26, has started all 48 games since joining Dallas three years ago, and has emerged as one of the league’s best guard on one of the NFL’s finest offensive lines. Playing alongside talents such as left tackle Tyron Smith and center Travis Frederick, Martin graded as the third-best guard of 2016, per Pro Football Focus. Jones called an eventual Martin extension a “big priority,” and Martin himself is in favor of a long-term deal.
“It would be huge,” Martin said. “I’m not real worried about that. I’m worried about playing. Obviously I’ll be here for hopefully a long time. These guys make it fun to come to work every day…Hopefully we can get something done.”
A new contract won’t come cheap, especially after Kevin Zeitler reset the guard market last month by inking a five-year deal with the Browns that pays him $12MM annually. Martin, a two-time All Pro and three-time Pro Bowler, will surely set Zeitler’s pact as his target. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have already invested significant resources in the offensive line, as both Smith and Frederick are under contract via long-term deals.
And water is wet
The real story is extension. I hope we lock him up.