Stephen Jones on Zack Martin contract talks: We would love to get it done

The Dallas Cowboys and guard Zack Martin have yet to reach a contract extension, but executive vice president Stephen Jones remains hopeful something will get worked out.

“It takes time,” Jones said. “That’s usually kind of how these things work. There’s a whole lot of zero progress, then all of a sudden you make some.”

The Cowboys and Martin have mutual interest in keeping the partnership together for a long time, but it will be a significant pay day. Martin is widely regarded as one of the top guards in the league, earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2014 and 2016 and second-team honors in 2015.

Martin’s contract is expected to surpass the one the Cleveland Browns handed to Kevin Zeitler, who became the highest-paid guard this offseason with a five-year, $60 million deal.

Martin, 26, is under Cowboys control for the next two seasons. The organization exercised their fifth-year option on him during the offseason, which means Martin would be paid $9.3 million in 2018 if no extension is reached.

But the Cowboys have had success in locking up offensive linemen in previous training camps with Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick. Jones is hopeful to keep that streak going with Martin.

“It’s too early for me to speculate whether we’re close or whether this thing can get done or not,” Jones said. “Obviously, we would love to get it done. But there’s two sides to this, and certainly it’s not easy to figure out exactly where it should be.

“As I said, I fully suspect we’ll figure something out at some point in time, and he’ll be a Dallas Cowboy for most of his career.”

This story was originally published August 8, 2017 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Stephen Jones on Zack Martin contract talks: We would love to get it done."