Dallas Cowboys right guard Zack Martin won't be retiring after the conclusion of the 2024 season, according to owner Jerry Jones. Martin is going to have season-ending ankle surgery, which led to speculation that the All-Pro veteran could be calling it quits.
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"This shouldn't be viewed as an end to his playing (career) at all," Jones said via 105.3 The FAN. "It should be viewed as the remainder of this season, and only that."
Martin sustained a right ankle injury two weeks ago in a matchup against the Houston Texans. The NFL Ironman dealt with injuries to both ankles this year, but the right one requires surgery.
Martin tried to return for Week 14, but the ankle injury was a reoccurring ailment he'd dealt with for a while.
"It's something I've been dealing with all year, back to training camp, and really over the last few years," Martin said via the team transcript. "But the last couple of weeks, we kind of took those two weeks and tried to heal up and did some different treatments, and stuff like that. And then, Monday, we did some workouts on the field and that just didn't respond very well."
Martin will undergo the second surgery on his right ankle next week, but the right guard said himself that he wouldn't be thinking about retirement at this time.
"This is not the time to have those discussions, and this is kind of all I'll say about that," he said with a very clear air of emotional frustration and disappointment in his voice. "It's a tough situation and the most important thing on my mind is getting healthy, and then having those conversations down the road. First and foremost, I want to get healthy and maybe those conversations are a little bit easier. We'll see what the future holds."
Martin is slated to be an eventual first-ballot Hall of Famer, but there is a good chance he will be returning to the gridiron next season. The Cowboys will likely turn to Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass to replace Martin at right guard.
The 5-7 Cowboys are set to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. Dallas has been hit by the injury bug this season, and unfortunately, Martin was unable to evade it.
"He's gonna be missed," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said via the team transcript. "We're not gonna replace Zack Martin, by any means. ... He brings so much to the team and the team culture. We all recognize what kind of player he"s been here in Dallas, but the type of person he is — people gravitate to him. His leadership, he'll definitely be missed in that area."
While Martin's season may be over, there is a silver lining. The nine-time All-Pro guard was named the Cowboys' 2024 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
"Having that extreme honor of being the nominee for the Walter Man of the Year," Martin said. "It's very humbling, and it makes you feel good inside to look at some of the teammates in the past that I've been really close with that have been the nominees, and obviously Dak was the winner of it [in 2022] and to see how much they pour into the community and what they do for this team, not only on the field but off the field.
"So very humbled to be a part of that."
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