It's the end of the season for one of the Cowboys' all-time greats and perhaps even the end of the line.
According to head coach Mike McCarthy, right guard Zack Martin will need surgery to repair the damage he sustained from a right ankle injury in Week 11 made the announcement in his press conference on Thursday. The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of the team's 34-10 loss to Houston and had caused Martin to sit out the last two games.
The team had originally hoped that Martin would be able to complete his ankle rehab with a view to returning in Week 14, but his progress did not go as planned and led to this decision, which Martin and the club made on Wednesday.
The undrafted Brock Hoffman has started Martin in both games of the Cowboys' current two-game winning streak, and he appears to be the primary backup again on Monday when Dallas hosts the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.
“We will miss him. There’s no way we’re going to replace Zack Martin.” McCarthy told reporters of the nine-time Pro Bowler, who was just announced earlier in the day Nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. “He contributes so much to the team and the team culture. We all know what a great player he's been throughout his career here in Dallas, but what he gives us as a person – people are drawn to him and he's really good at bringing people together. This offensive line room is truly an example of his leadership abilities and he will definitely be missed in that area.”
Both the Nov. 18 injury and Thursday's announcement immediately raised questions about the future of the 34-year-old, who was the Cowboys' first-round draft pick out of Notre Dame in 2014 and is now in the final year of his contract. After missing just two games in his first six professional seasons, Martin will have missed 16 contests in the last five years by the end of the 2024 regular season.
Micah Parsons unintentionally sparked rumors about the 11-year veteran's retirement in early November. After a loss to the Eagles, the Cowboys linebacker said, “I kind of feel bad for guys like Zack Martin and guys that maybe have their senior year behind them and are on their way out. Because I wanted to hold the trophy for him.”
When asked a few days later Martin himself was unwilling to seriously address the issue when considering playing beyond 2024.
“I'm just taking it one week at a time, my man,” he told reporters.
But now there are no weeks left for the seven-time first-team All-Pro… at least for this season and perhaps forever.
“I think you just have to take a step back and deal with one thing at a time,” McCarthy said Thursday. “That was honestly the conversation that Zack and I had. The focus is really on the operation, what comes next. These are all questions that will be asked or thought about.”
