In a 2024 season that’s been ruined in large part because of a never-ending tidal wave of injuries, the 5-7 Dallas Cowboys suffered another big blow Thursday. Future Hall of Fame right guard Zack Martin is undergoing season-ending ankle surgery.
Martin, who’s seven first-team All-Pro selections are tied for the most in NFL history for offensive guards, is in the final year of his contract in 2024, his 11th NFL season. He turned 34 years old on Nov. 20, so it’s natural to wonder if this season will be his last. His on-field production has been nothing short of excellent. Martin is a nine-time Pro Bowler who has fewer career holding penalties (six) than he does first-team All-Pro selections (seven).
“Man, tough. Tough loss. You know, Zack’s a soldier, man,” fellow All-Pro Micah Parsons said Thursday. “I really just hate to see him go out like this. Last year of his deal and because of everything he really meant to this team, the work he put in, the time, effort, man, it’s just truly, it’s sickening for us because of how important he is to the team. But [in] my heart and I’m just saddened that it went like this.”
Dallas All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb learned about Martin’s season-ending ankle surgery from local media during an interview session after practice Thursday. He was crestfallen when he learned that Martin’s 2024 season was over.
“That’s news to me. Damn, I’m sorry. Sickening,” Lamb said Thursday. “Obviously we love for Zack to be out there. I love Zack as a person and obviously his health is more important than, it’s bigger than a brand [the Cowboys]. So with that, I’m praying that he has a healthy recovery and surgery goes well, but it sucks. … This sport is not faithful to anybody. So get all you can out of it, be grateful that you have every opportunity that you can out there, be grateful and take full advantage.”
Even though Martin himself said that “this is not the time to have those discussions” when asked about retirement and his football future, Lamb can’t help but think about the end for one of his all-time favorite teammates.
“Yeah, I think about it often,” Lamb said. “I don’t know if you know I do, but I do. It’s a tough pill to swallow on my end because again, he’s a great person to have in a locker room. Talk to Zack just about every day, speak to him every given time.
He still has the same smile, same energy, light up the room. And obviously, we know the type of career in the season that he’s had. So, everything that he’s done for the Cowboys and for us or for me since I’ve been here as far as leading and teaching me how to lead and guide and teaching me how to be a pro, I appreciate him for that and and many more things. Just being a brother to me, and he knows that’s my guy and even if it’s the end right now, I appreciate it. If not, I love it.”
Martin’s contract expires after the 2024 NFL season, and if he opts to keep playing, there’s certainly a world where he suits up for another NFL franchise. Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones” “all-in” offseason in 2024 led to the Cowboys losing eight players, tied for their third-most lost in a single offseason. However, Parsons believes the nine-time Pro Bowler would rather retire than join another team, and he prays Martin has gas in the tank for one more year in 2025.
“This guy bleeds blue and white. He’s literally the representation of the [Cowboys] star,” Parsons said. “Consistency, effort, determination, greatness. He will never play for another team. I just hope he’s got one more year left in the tank.
Because, man, I know injuries suck, but I was telling these guys, ‘Man, I want to finish the year strong.’ But you want to play with those guys. You want to play with Dak [Prescott] on the field, you want to play with Zack on the field. I want one more year with D-Law [edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence], and I know the chances are slim. I want one more year to run it back with those guys. I wouldn’t say I took it for granted, but it’s just like damn. I didn’t want it to end at the same time. These four years went by fast, and it sucks how it went.”
How Martin helped mold Parsons into an All-Pro
Parsons and Hall of Famer Reggie White are the only players since sacks became an officially tracked individual metric in 1982 to register at least 13 in each of their first three NFL seasons played. He wouldn’t have been able to join such rarefied air without learning the subtleties of pass rushing and how to beat some of the top offensive linemen in the league without Martin’s guidance, something he is eternally grateful for.
“I tell the story all of the time, [former Cowboys defensive coordinator] Dan Quinn made me work my way up. He started off, this was when [right tackle] Terence Steele was in his second-year, he had me go against Terence and all of these other guys on the team,” Parsons said, recalling his rookie year in 2021. “I got the best of them.
Then it was, ‘Go against [left tackle] Tyron [Smith].’ Then I was like, ‘OK, this is Tyron Smith.’ Then going against Zack, it was, ‘This is Zack Martin.’ It was always a learning and challenging moment when I went against those guys. All it took was me beating them one time and I was like, ‘Oh, I got these guys.’ But to get there, they all took me under their wing. They all saw it, but it’s kind of like art. They put the pieces together. Tyron taught me how to use a spin move. La’el [Collins] taught me how to use my speed as a strength, not as a tool. [Martin] taught me how to set everything up. He taught me how to play chess on the football field. I got lucky. I always say that I got real lucky to have guys like that early in my career.”
Going into ‘ultra drive’
With Martin (ankle) and quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring) out for the year and 11-year veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) out for the foreseeable future, a new crop of leaders are taking the mantle in the Cowboys locker room with five games remaining in the 2024 regular season.
“Now, I think the voices are different,” Parsons said. “I think those are positive voices. When you got kind of some of the vets who are out, it kind of opens up the gateways for you to come in and say, ‘It’s kind of like our show now.’ It was kind of heading toward that direction but now it happened sooner that we thought, and I think everyone from [defensive lineman] Osa [Odighizuwa], myself, CeeDee [Lamb], embrace that.”
It would be natural for the Cowboys locker to be disheartened with all the injuries and their slim chance at returning to the postseason, but the message for Dallas now is simple: go even harder.
“If you get a chance to play … guys should embrace this mindset that you should wanna go even harder,” Parsons said. “You’re fighting for a spot next year, you’re fighting for contracts.
This should be the opportunity that you want, you know? Obviously you hate when guys go down, but it’s time to go even harder. I would be like, ‘Oh, man, I’m in ultra drive’ [with] preparation, work, like [all] that. Let me get better. I got a chance to really go make a name for myself, so guys should really embrace these challenges, you know? I did embrace it my rookie year, no slip ups, no hiccups. DLaw went down, ‘You gotta step up.’ Okay, let’s do that. I would say let’s do that. Embrace this challenge because what, we got five games [left]? So, let’s do this.”
