Three Dallas Cowboys affected by Zack Martin’s deal
The first major signing has happened for the Dallas Cowboys. How will this affect these three players looking to get paid?
Signing Zack Martin this offseason was the Dallas Cowboys top priority. In doing so they have solidified their offensive line until 2024. With Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick, both signed through 2023 and Martin now signed until 2024.
The great thing about this situation is that these contracts are all very team friendly for the Cowboys. They have taken about $3 million off of Martin’s potential cap hit this season and raised the Cowboys current cap space to $14 million. So let’s take a look at which players it will affect in the future.
Cornerback – Byron Jones
Dallas picked up Byron Jones’s fifth-year option earlier this season which will cost the Cowboys approximately $6.1 million in cap space in 2019. Jones if he can play well enough will force the Cowboys to either place him under the franchise tag or sign him to a deal next season.
Martin’s deal gives the Cowboys space now to figure out what they will do with Jones. Whether they franchise tag him or not the Cowboys have the cap space now to do it.
Defensive End – DeMarcus Lawrence
Lawrence is coming off of a monster 2017 season after a few years of back injuries. He is currently scheduled to play under the franchise tag which will cost the Dallas Cowboys $17 million this season. Now that Zack Martin’s deal is done the Cowboys can focus their attention on trying to sign Lawrence before the July 16th deadline.
Lawrence has stated that he is content with playing under the tag but would like to get a deal done if they can. His team is looking at the Olivier Vernon contract as a starting point which was an $85 million dollar deal with $40 million guaranteed. The Cowboys don’t have a lot of time to get a deal done with Lawrence but with Martin’s money done they know what they have left to work with.
Quarterback – Dak Prescott
Whether you love him or hate him, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys are already talking about a new contract. Jerry Jones has said publicly that Dak has shown that he can play in the league and is going to get paid. Now how much he will get has yet to be determined.
The recent contracts of Jimmy Garappolo, Matt Ryan, and Kirk Cousins give the Cowboys a few targets to zero in on. While Jerry is saying he will get paid, Stephen Jones wants to see what Dak can do this year. If he plays well they will pull the trigger on a new deal sooner rather than later.
One player left off of this list was Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys have the ability to use a fifth-year option on him since he was a first-round pick.
Zack Martin’s deal has created a lot of questions for the Cowboys. It also created a lot of possibilities with the money they have saved and will gain. Next year the Cowboys will have over approximately $60 million in cap space to play with. Martin’s contract proves to those who think the Cowboys are stuck in salary cap hell that the Cowboys are fine.
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How do you feel about the Zack Martin contract?
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