Cowboys’ Zack Martin: NFL Retirement ‘in the Realm of Possibilities’ After 2024-25

Tyler Conway@@jtylerconwayFeatured Columnist IVJune 5, 2024

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The Dallas Cowboys may be losing one of their offensive line stalwarts after the 2024 season.

The nine-time Pro Bowler acknowledged his career is winding down in an interview with Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.

“I’m not saying 100 percent, but I think it’s definitely in the realm of possibilities,” Martin said. “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.”

Martin has earned All-Pro honors in nine of his 10 NFL seasons, becoming one of the greatest offensive linemen in Cowboys history. He turns 34 in November and is heading into the final year of his contract. The Cowboys would almost certainly prefer to reach a new deal with Martin to avoid his void years coming onto their cap during a period when they’ll be having to pay Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons handsomely.

Martin held out last offseason for a new contract and said he felt he never played at his full potential due to missing workouts.

“I don’t think I played honestly up to my standard last year, really,” Martin said. “That’s another reason why I want to finish this year strong is I think I can play at a high level still. I think I may have come up a little bit short last year. I’ve got a little chip on my shoulder to get back to that consistent, kind of dominant player that I’ve been.”

At the very least, we can add Martin to the list of question marks as the Cowboys embark on an interesting 2024 campaign.