Report: Cowboys guard Zack Martin status update for Thursday vs Buccaneers

Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken provided an update Wednesday on the availability of Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin for Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Martin will not be available for their season opening game, reported Gehlken.

Update: Zack Martin will miss game for Cowboys

“Cowboys RG Zack Martin won’t play Thursday evening at Buccaneers, source said,” Gehlken explained. “Team held out hope, willing to fly him to Tampa on private jet Thursday. But his recovery from COVID-19 hasn’t reached that stage. Week 2 game at Chargers a realistic target. Connor McGovern to start.”

The news comes as a blow to the Cowboys as they prepare for a season opener against the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers on Thursday. Martin had tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, and while the Cowboys were optimistic for a quick return, that is no longer the case.

Martin had been selected to the Pro Bowl every season since being drafted in 2014 until injuries kept him off the field for the 2020 season. In his seven year career, Martin has been named first-team All-Pro four times.

While any time without a player of his caliber would be a problem, losing Martin for the season opener is even more frustrating following the season Dallas is trying to recover from. In 2020, the Cowboys saw major injuries to quarterback Dak Prescott and their offensive line.

The 2021 season has been viewed as a chance to see what this Dallas team is capable of when healthy, and not having Martin means having to wait a little bit longer to see. The Cowboys will start guard Connor McGovern in place of Martin this week.

Martin’s impact on the line

As On3’s Simon Gibbs explained, to understand just how big an impact the loss of Martin might be, consider his Pro Football Focus blocking grade: last year, Martin received a 91.3 grade from Pro Football Focus — making him the second highest-ranked right guard in the NFL.

In the mid 2010’s, when the Cowboys had one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks behind the likes of DeMarco Murray, Darren McFadden and later Ezekiel Elliott, Martin was seen as one of Dallas’ best offensive lineman. He was named to the NFL’s 2010’s All-Decade team, despite not making his debut until 2014.

In a bit of good news however, Martin’s fellow offensive lineman La’el Collins will be active for the season opener after missing the entire 2020 season following hip surgery.

Collins has played alongside Martin for most of his NFL career. He’s started 61 of the 62 NFL games in which he’s appeared, and has been a mainstay on the line that blocks for Elliott.