Dallas Cowboys star right guard Zack Martin suffered the first season-ending injury of his 11-year career in 2024 after undergoing ankle surgery in Week 14. That injury combined with his Cowboys contract expiring and being 34 years old has him staring down the prospect of retirement in 2025.
If he doesn’t play another game, Martin’s spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is ensured. His seven first-team All-Pro selections are tied for the most in league history among offensive guards with Hall of Famers Randall McDaniel and John Hannah and Martin is a member of the 2010s All-Decade team. At the moment, Martin is taking time off from football to get his ankle feeling good again and to mull one of the biggest decisions of his life: to retire or return to football for another season in 2025. He will turn 35 on Nov. 20.
“First off, I want to try to get healthy,” Martin said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, on Tuesday at a Super Bowl radio row promotional event. “[I’ll decide] here in the next month, six weeks. Me and my wife have been talking about it, but right now I’m focused on getting healthy and seeing how I feel with this ankle repaired and whether or not I’ll give it a go again.”
Martin’s excitement level and mental focus for the game will also be a driving component of his decision.
“Just mentally, if I’m ready,” Martin said. “I know what it takes in this league and what all goes into it. I think I just need to get my head mentally around if I want to commit to that for another year or not.”
The anomaly that was the Cowboys’ injury-plagued 2024 with quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring tear), edge rusher Micah Parsons (high ankle sprain), edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence (foot), cornerback DaRon Bland (foot stress fracture), cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee), wide receiver Brandin Cooks (knee), linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (knee) all missing significant play time, just to name a few, led Martin to categorize his latest season as “a weird year.”
“It was just a weird year for everyone,” Martin said. “For whatever reason this year, something just didn’t click. It’s just difficult being in and out of the lineup for a while. It’s tough. That’s the first time I’ve ever been on IR. … I think I’ve done a good job in my career in focusing on what I was doing in my career at that time. What I will try to do now is figure out what the next chapter of my life looks like, whether that’s playing football in Dallas, playing football somewhere else, retiring, whatever that may be. We’re just trying to figure that out.”
The Cowboys maintaining coaching continuity by hiring Dallas offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to be the team’s new head coach and then hiring Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams to be the team’s new OC could potentially entice Martin to re-sign for one more year. Now, it’s time for Martin to process his thoughts and make a decision before free agency kicks off on March 12.
“I’m excited for him, man,” Martin said talking about Schottenheimer. “He’s made an impression in that building last couple of years. I think what he does really well is having relationships in the building with everyone, whether it be an offensive player, defensive player, whatever it may be. I know it’s at the forefront of what he wants to bring to the organization, those relationships he brings to the team.”
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Author: Garrett Podell
February 4, 2025 | 6:45 pm
