Cowboys guard Zack Martin addresses potential retirement after season-ending ankle surgery

The right side of the Dallas Cowboys offensive line took a massive hit on Thursday. Guard Zack Martin is out for the remainder of the 2024 season due to an ankle injury. Surgery will be required for Martin after playing in just 10 games this year.

Questions about Martin’s future in football are now being asked. Retirement was a topic of conversation entering the season but with a significant injury, Martin was asked if he would continue to play. He says that’s not currently on his mind, hoping to get healthy before discussing plans with people around him.

“Now isn’t the time to have those conversations,” Martin said. “That’s all I’ll say about that… The most important thing on my mind is getting healthy and then having those conversations down the road… We’ll see what the future holds.”

Back in June, Martin was asked about his long career and if it was coming to a close soon. There was an admission from Martin saying retirement was possible following the season. At the time, all his focus was on preparing for training camp, and wanted to keep his mind on football.

“I’m not saying 100%, but I think it’s definitely in the realm of possibilities,” Martin said via The Dallas Morning News. “And that’s one thing I don’t want to do. For myself, I don’t want to be thinking, ‘Oh, this is it. This is it.’

“I want to stay in the moment, and I want to play the best that I can play at this point and be the best right guard this team needs on a weekly basis. And then after the season, we’ll figure out what’s going on.”

An injury certainly adds to the equation but the mindset appears to be the same. Focus on getting back to full strength before deciding if continuing on is an option.

Martin was a first-round draft selection of Dallas back in 2014, playing for 11 seasons. He will likely wear a gold jacket one day as Martin is considered one of the best players of the past decade. Seven first-team All Pros are on the resume plus another two second-team. The only time Martin was not selected was back in 2020 when an injury shortened his season — likely what will unfold in 2024.

To put things in perspective — if Martin does decide to retire, he will finish with as many first-team All-Pro selections as accepted holding penalties throughout his career.