The Dallas Cowboys are still in a Super Bowl mindset even though one of their key players has not reported to training camp.
Offensive guard Zack Martin, a member of the Madden “99 Club” and one of the best interior linemen in the NFL, hasn't shown up for the start of camp. He reportedly missed the team's flight from Dallas to Oxnard, California, the site of their training camp.
Martin is currently staying away with the hopes of a new contract that pays him more commensurately with the highest-paid guards in football. The Cowboys are set to start practice officially on Wednesday morning.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday he wouldn't speculate on anything related to Martin's availability or any negotiations.
"I'm not going to discuss anything about any player or players' agreements, but we certainly have great communication with frankly everybody," Jones said. "So, not necessarily any surprises at all but we won't be discussing the football business aspect of this thing with any public comments."
Dallas has more than $20 million in salary-cap space currently. But as executive vice president Stephen Jones pointed out, the Cowboys have other young players who will soon need extensions, mentioning Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons and Terence Steele. Perhaps Jones was alluding to future news as NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported later Tuesday that Diggs had agreed to a $97 million contract extension.
With Martin out for now, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said the team will continue working with the first-team offensive line how it has been since the start of the offseason program, with Tyron Smith at left tackle and Tyler Smith at left guard, where he saw some action late last season after mostly playing outside to begin his rookie year.
The Cowboys aren't letting Martin's absence taint what they believe could be the start of a very special season.
"I think we've got a chance to be a contender," Jerry Jones said.
But given that it has been 28 years since the franchise last made a Super Bowl, Jones' optimism isn't the only thing rising -- his urgency is extremely high, too.
"I think when I look at where we are with Dak (Prescott), when I think I look at where we are with Tyron Smith. When I see and what I've experienced with players that have played great for the Cowboys that aren't here today, we need to get it done now while we got them," Jones said. "I think that's healthy, healthy for everybody. I think that's the way my competition is structured -- my competition, the Cowboys' competition -- and so that causes you to really pop up in the morning."
Jones added that he was "very urgent" and that he's "proud that I'm as excited and (have) got the health to be that way."
McCarthy said that the team's culture and talent is "definitely the best of the four years" he's been the head coach there, adding, "I feel really good about where we are."
