July 19, 2023

NFC East: Cowboys guard Zack Martin considering training camp holdout

Dallas' elite right guard is reportedly unhappy with his current contract and the Cowboys' apparent lack of interest in restructuring.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Never a better way to build hype for training camp than with the possibility of a holdout from your All-Pro guard.

That's the prospect the Dallas Cowboys seem to be looking at, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, as Zack Martin is considering not reporting to the team's training camp later this month due to unhappiness with his current contract.

The 32-year old believes he is "woefully underpaid relative to the market," according to Schefter's sources, and he was put off by Dallas' apparent lack of interest in restructuring.

Cowboys’ six-time All-Pro guard and team captain Zack Martin is considering not reporting to training camp due to his unhappiness with his contract and the team’s lack of interest in restructuring it, per sources. Martin believes he is “woefully underpaid relative to the market.”… pic.twitter.com/mKV2W9hPPZ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 19, 2023

Martin is an eight-time Pro Bowler and a six-time First Team All-Pro, earning the latest in both of those honors last season when the rest of Dallas' offensive line was decimated by injury.

After losing Tyron Smith and Terence Steele both to season-ending injuries, Martin played a big role in holding the Cowboys' offense together long enough to get to the playoffs, but only so they could go as far as the divisional round (again).

He signed a long-term contract with Dallas in the summer of 2018, but as arguably the best right guard in the NFL right now, Martin is slated to earn about $7 million less than the league's highest-paid at the position (Atlanta's Chris Lindstrom) heading into this season, per Over The Cap.

The Cowboys already have a lengthy list of contract problems on the horizon, so adding their elite right guard's reported discontent into the mix isn't going to do them any favors, but you're not going to see any Eagles fan bent out of shape over that.

Cowboys free agents next offseason:

- CB Trevon Diggs
- CB Stephon Gilmore
- LT Tyron Smith
- RT Terence Steele
- C Tyler Biadasz
- S Jayron Kearse
- DE Dorance Armstrong
- Edge Dante Fowler
- S Malik Hooker

And they're going to have to restructure Dak, too. Can't pay everyone. https://t.co/3B6HsvOmcw
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) July 19, 2023