Mike McCarthy sounds off on Malik Hooker after contract extension

The Cowboys locked up another DB, dealing a lucrative extension to safety Malik Hooker. And Mike McCarthy is appreciative that Hooker is getting paid.

“He’s an incredible football player,” McCarthy said of Hooker. “You see the range he has, the ball skills. He’s an exceptional athlete that does a great job commanding the back end of the defense for us.”

On Friday, Hooker agreed to a three-year, $24 million contract extension. The Cowboys officially announced the deal Saturday morning. Before the extension, Hooker would’ve been a free agent at the end of this coming season and possibly onto his third team in the NFL.

.@MalikHooker24’s officially official ✍️

The Cowboys and Hooker have agreed to a three-year extension worth $24 million.#DallasCowboys | @blockchain pic.twitter.com/AwUFyIv07u

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) August 5, 2023

Statistically, Malik Hooker enjoyed his best pro season in 2022

The Colts selected the former Ohio State All-American in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, The Cowboys brought him on board in 2021 after the Colts declined to pick up his fifth-year option. Statistically, Malik Hooker enjoyed his best year in the NFL last season. He made 62 tackles with three interceptions. And he also turned a fumble recovery into a touchdown. The analytics site Pro Football Focus said Hooker missed only four tackles all season.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys rewarded cornerback Trevon Diggs, a 2020 second-round pick, with a huge extension as camp opened in Oxnard, Calif. He was headed into his final year of his rookie deal. Instead, that’s replaced with a five-year, $97 million extension. The deal features a $21.25 million signing bonus. With incentives, the contract could pay as much as $104 million.

While Dallas extends DBs, Zack Martin wants bigger deal

And back in March, Dallas and safety Donovan Wilson agreed on three-year deal worth $21 million, with $13.5 million guaranteed.

There’s still one huge deal that’s yet to get done. Yes, Malik Hooper was nice. But Zack Martin, the star offensive guard, is a key. Martin is holding out. And he’s facing fines of more than $500,000 and counting for missing preseason camp. Officially, it costs him $50,000 a practice.

Martin still has two years remaining on his contract. He’d like a deal that pays him about $20 million a season. So far, owner Jerry Jones isn’t budging.

“It’s not about precedent, it’s about facts,” Jones told reporters. “We need the money to pay (Micah) Parsons. We need the money to pay the players that we got to pay in the future. That’s a fact.”

Martin is an eight-time All Pro and one of the elite guards in the game. Back in 2018, he signed a six-year, $84 million extension at an average of $14 million per year. So five years ago, he was the highest paid guard in the league. Now, he’s only No. 8 on the list of highest paid guards.