OXNARD, Calif. – The first stinger of Zack Martin's career was admittedly a scary one.
He's grateful it wasn't anything worse.
"A little scare, but everything's fine," Martin said. "I'm just going to do what they tell me to do and hopefully be back before you know it."
Martin sustained the injury while blocking in team drills early in Tuesday's practice. Team medical staff carefully attended to him for several minutes before he sat up and walked to the locker room on his own for examination.
"I could have kept my head up for sure (on the play)," Martin said. "Definitely a learning experience there."
Mackenzy Bernadeau replaced Martin at right guard for the remainder of Tuesday's practice. The players were off Wednesday, and the All-Pro right guard figures to miss a little time.
Four of the Cowboys' five starting offensive linemen have dealt with injuries in recent days: Tyron Smith (biceps), Ronald Leary (back), Doug Free (foot) and now Martin. Head coach Jason Garrett hasn't disclosed how many linemen might play in Sunday's preseason game at San Francisco, but the Cowboys have taken a measured approach to injuries throughout camp, ensuring no one is rushed back too early.
When Martin returns, he'll resume his place as one of the most impactful players on offense.[embeddedad0]
"Zack is one of those guys, and I can say this to you honestly, he gets better each and every day," Garrett said. "It goes to the ability that he has but much more importantly the approach that he takes."
