The Houston Texans announced Tuesday they were giving a contract extension to starting center Nick Martin.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson lauded the move during his weekly visit with the Houston media Wednesday.
“For sure, he deserves it,” Watson said. “Everything he’s put in for this organization, for himself, on and off the field, coming back from injuries, being able to come in and lead that O-line group.”
Martin started all 16 games at center in 2018, and took over as full-time center with 14 starts in as many games in 2017. The former 2016 second-round pick from Notre Dame didn’t get the chance to play his rookie season due to a knee injury that landed him on the injured reserve list rather than the 53-man roster by Week 1.
Coach Bill O’Brien told reporters it was in the best interest for the team and the 26-year-old to sign the offensive lineman the day after the club’s 30-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
“He played a lot of football, good football for us last year, played good on Monday night and just want him to be a Texan,” O’Brien said. “So, we all felt like that was the best move for Nick and for our team.”
Even though Watson simply takes the snaps from the center, he nonetheless has an appreciation for how difficult the position is for Martin.
“It’s hard to play center in this offense,” said Watson. “It’s a lot of information, a lot of things that you’ve got to call at the line of scrimmage and make sure that everyone is on the same page. He deserves it. Congratulations to him and definitely more dinners for him to pay for the offense.”
Martin and the offensive line allowed Watson to take six sacks in the Week 1 loss. While the performance isn’t characteristic of what the Texans think Martin brings to the offensive line, as one of the leaders, Martin will have to figure a way to keep the franchise quarterback upright more in the home opener versus the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium.
