FRISCO — Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Zack Martin has already had a Hall of Fame career. Now it’s fair to wonder if it’s on the verge of ending.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy announced on Thursday that Martin will have season-ending surgery on his right ankle. Martin, 34, has missed the last two games, though McCarthy said they originally targeted Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals as a potential return date.
By the point this past Monday rolled around, doubt was cast on Martin’s potential return. Martin, according to McCarthy, had more tests on his ankle on Monday. After that, Martin and the Cowboys talked about his future.
“Everybody involved thought it was best for him to get the surgery,” McCarthy said.
That means the Cowboys will now turn to former undrafted guard Brock Hoffman to replace Martin on a more permanent basis. Hoffman replaced Martin the last two weeks. He allowed no pressures during both wins and helped the Cowboys have their first 100-yard rusher in a game since Week 3 of last season.
“I thought Brock has done a really nice job,” McCarthy said. “He’s brought an edge to us.
“Now, [Hoffman and T.J. Bass} have tape of people watching them, so the challenge will be different.”
Martin is the latest major injury for the Cowboys. Quarterback Dak Prescott had season-ending hamstring surgery earlier this season. DeMarcus Lawrence has been out since Week 4 with a foot injury. Even corner Trevon Diggs, who has missed the last two games, and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb are expected to be limited on Thursday.
“To be honest with you, injuries are the worst part of the games for the players,” McCarthy said. “It’s just so unfortunate you know how much they put into it. But as far as the operation and the process, this is just part of our game. Your competition doesn’t care. Not that it matters we care what they think. I just think it’s just how it goes. It’s not a matter of if you’re going to have injuries, you’re always going to have injuries. It’s just a matter of how many and when they come and who gets injuries. That’s been my experience of it.”
Martin will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. The Cowboys restructured his deal after a training camp holdout last year, which added three guaranteed void years to end of his deal.
McCarthy said conversations about Martin’s future, and his potential return, are not happening immediately. Martin told The Dallas Morning News before the season that he wanted to “stay in the moment.” Many took that as Martin hinting at a potential retirement after 2024. Martin, before the season, said that he wanted to set the record straight and make it known he wasn’t considering retirement.
On Thursday, he reiterated that his future hasn’t been decided.
“This is not the time to have those discussions,” he said. “This is all I’ll say about that. It’s a tough situation and the most important thing on my mind is getting healthy and then having those conversations down the road.”
It appeared that Martin’s injuries, which also included the other ankle and his shoulder, affected him this season. Martin had the lowest Pro Football Focus grades of his career. He also allowed a career-high 24 pressures.
If this is the end for Martin, then it will be the cap on an incredible NFL career. Martin was a first round pick by the Cowboys in 2016. He was a seven-time, First-Team All-Pro. He earned second-team honors twice. He’s also the member of the NFL’s 2010’s All-Decade team. He was even nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award on Thursday.
“Clearly a Hall of Famer,” McCarthy said. “Not only for the way he plays but just first class. He just commands a lot of respect. Same person, personality every single day. Hard working. True team guy. Puts the team first. He’s been a joy to work with and I can’t say enough great things about him.”
Cowboys left tackle Tyler Guyton thinks the same way.
Before Guyton was Martin’s teammate, he was a Cowboys fan.
“I just remember watching him and just trying to understand how he can be so good at football,” Guyton said with emphasis on that last word. “So many accolades and accomplishments. It’s really hard at guard, especially a decade long.”
But unlike most fans, Guyton had the chance to see firsthand what made Martin so great when the Cowboys drafted Guyton in the first round this past draft, just as they did with Martin a decade before.
“To a normal person, they don’t know what goes on inside the walls, the day-to-day,” Guyton said. “But being that consistent for 10 years — and not just being consistent, but being [consistently the best] — that’s a whole another level. He gets all the props in the world. To me, he’s truly a different breed.”
Martin won’t be going far. He said he told the offensive linemen this morning that he’s at their service. He said he’s not going to be a ghost around the facility. That’s good news for the Cowboys.
“That’s his o-line room,” Guyton said. “He’s been the standard in the NFL for the last decade. He’s built a culture here and carried the culture of the OGs that have been through here.”
