As is the case with nearly every NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys are in the midst of their effort to prepare their books for the start of the upcoming league year. The latest step in that process was restructuring the contract of guard Zack Martin, according to NFL Media.
The move will save the Cowboys $13 million. Martin originally had a base salary of $18 million, thanks to the reworked two-year deal he signed with Dallas last offseason, and along with the prorated $10.5 million signing bonus from his previous deal, he was set to count against the cap for $28.5 million. Now, he'll count for approximately $15.9 million, according to Over the Cap, with the remainder of the base salary conversion spread out over three void years that were attached to the contract last summer plus an additional void year added in this conversion.
Martin has been in the NFL for 10 seasons and has made both the Pro Bowl and one of the two All-Pro teams nine times, with the lone exception being the 2020 season, when he played only 10 games. He's been a first-teamer seven times, including each of the last three years. Widely considered one of the best guards and overall offensive linemen in the NFL for the entirety of his time in the league, Martin is heading into the final year of his contract and will turn 34 years old during the 2024 season.
Dallas still likely needs to make several cap-clearing moves to set things up for the offseason. Signing one or both of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to contract extensions would save significant money, though recent reports have indicated that the Cowboys might do a simple restructure of Prescott's deal rather than extend him -- a strategy which would save a bit less money and also open the Cowboys up to both losing Prescott for nothing in return next offseason and taking on a massive $59 million dead cap hit in 2025 if he were to leave.
Coupled with reports that the Cowboys might not re-sign stalwart left tackle and likely future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith, it sure seems like significant changes could be coming to Dallas fairly soon. Even Martin's restructure could point in that direction, with 2024 being the last year on his deal and only void years remaining after this.
The Cowboys very openly are playing in a lame-duck year for head coach Mike McCarthy, and even signed much of the new defensive coaching staff (including defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer) to one-year deals. Jerry Jones has claimed that the team will be going "all-in" this season, but has also stated that his definition of "all-in" might be different than the one others have. Restructuring Martin's deal to clear space probably qualifies, but the wider NFL world will likely only view the Cowboys as "all-in" if Dallas actually participates in veteran free agency this offseason, which has been antithetical to the team's strategy in recent years.
