Report: Dallas Cowboys OL Zack Martin plans to retire

Seven-time All-Pro guard Zack Martin has informed the Dallas Cowboys he plans to retire, sources told Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network on Thursday evening. He’s one of the greatest linemen of his era and likely a Hall of Famer. Martin walks away from the game at the age of 34 years old.

He spent 11 years with the Cowboys franchise and had a meeting with Jerry Jones on Thursday to inform the owner/General Manager of the decision, according to Todd Archer of ESPN NFL Nation. Martin was named to the Pro Bowl nine times in his prolific career.

Nobody in Dallas franchise history has more first-team All-Pro selections than Zack Martin. His seven are tied with Bob Lilly and Randy White. Only Lilly (11), Jason Witten (11), Larry Allen (10), and Mel Renfro (10) have more Pro Bowl selections as a Cowboy.

Martin had 6,659 pass protection snaps during his 11-year career in Dallas. During that time, he had zero accepted holding penalties in pass protection, according to Warren Sharp. For his entire career, he only had seven accepted holding penalties. Those kinds of numbers will simply be hard to replicate, even for the greatest of offensive linemen.

Martin earned just under $112 million during his storied career, according to Spotrac.

Before suiting up in the National Football League, he enjoyed a dominant career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he started 52 career games. In doing so, he set a school record for the most starts in a career by an offensive lineman at the school. His senior year, he led an offensive line that allowed only eight sacks, ranking them second best in the FBS in that stat category.

Martin was named MVP of the 2013 Pinstripe Bowl after Notre Dame won 29-16 over Rutgers. He became the first offensive lineman since 1959 (Jay Huffman) to earn that honor in a college bowl game. Martin was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.