Jason Garrett: Zack Martin likely held out for up to a week or so

The Cowboys are ramping up their preparations in Oxnard for the 2019 season. As is customary, Jason Garrett will hold regular press conferences throughout the team’s time at training camp. Here is the recap of today’s press conference. (All answers are paraphrased and not actual quotes).

Zack Martin update?

He had an MRI yesterday, there is irritation to a disk, he’ll need some rest and rehab, could be up to a week, we’ll see how he responds. He’s a tough guy but we’ll dial his work back.

Is this new or from back in the offseason?

He’s had a little history with it at some point. He’s tough, so for him to come out of practice is noticeable, we’ll handle it with rest.

You place a lot of emphasis on 2-minute work?

Those situation come up so much in games, before the half and at end of games, every week. You need to be ready in that situation. The NFL is so competitive, 70% of games are one score in the fourth quarter. The reason teams make playoffs is how they handle those situations.

Injury to guard Cody Wichmann?

Hurt his calf, he’ll be out for a bit.

Do you have enough guards?

It happens in training camp, you have to test the versatility of guys. Sometimes you unearth some players in this situation. We’ll juggle a few guys.

Is Joe Looney both guard and center?

He can play both, he has that versatility.

Is Travis Frederick practicing today?

Travis is practicing today.

Who has days off today?

Jason Witten, Tyron Smith, Jameill Showers.

How important is the scrimmage tomorrow?

We are evaluating players constantly in meetings, practice, drills, then you get to team, 11-on-11. This is a ramped up version of that. We’ll do situational, goal line, redzone, then at the end the young guys will scrimmage and tackle each other. Next week we play a preseason game, this helps players get their feet wet.

When did you realize Jason Witten is back?

He just handles things the right way, came back in shape and seemed like himself in OTAs, we’ll dial him back with days off. He looks like the same guy, blocking and receiving, made some TDs in practice yesterday in red zone.

Why not run more no-huddle?

We do use that, sometimes its fast, sometimes you control the tempo when doing it. It’s hard to replicate 2-minute when you are in the middle of the first quarter because of the difference in time.

How did you feel about your special teams last year?

We did some good things, other times not as good. We can always improve in making an impact on the games. We want to create opportunities for returns, it’s harder to do for kickoff returns with the new rules. We feel like we have some players in the punt return. Some of it is hidden yardage, we can improve there. Some good, some not good enough. Typically that unit is transformed every year, with the turnover you get with new guys.