The Dallas Cowboys will be transitioning to a new era under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer without one of their longtime offensive linchpins.
Offensive guard Zack Martin told the team he plans to retire, according to multiple reports. NFL Media was first to report the news.
Martin, 34, was a seven-time All-Pro selection and nine-time Pro Bowl pick who established himself as one of the game’s most dominant and reliable blockers. A first-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2014, he teamed with left tackle Tyron Smith and center Travis Frederick to give the Cowboys one of the league’s most formidable fronts for years.
But after Smith left to sign with the New York Jets last offseason and Frederick retired in 2020, Martin was the last of the three to remain with the franchise, with which he spent his entire 11-year career.
His retirement comes after a 2024 season that was cut short after 10 games, as he underwent surgery for an ankle issue that had plagued him.
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Just two weeks earlier, Martin, who was a selection for the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s, was still contemplating whether to continue with his career.
‘First off, I want to try to get healthy. Here in the next month, six weeks, me and my wife have been talking about it,’ Martin told the Cowboys’ official website of his decision timeline. ‘Right now, I’m focused on getting healthy and seeing how I feel with this ankle kind of repaired and whether or not I’m going to go out and try to go again.’
The only two seasons in which he was not selected to the Pro Bowl were last year and 2020, when he also was limited to 10 games due to a concussion and calf injury.
Brock Hoffman took over for Martin at right guard this season.