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Cowboys Legend Zack Martin Retires After Dominating NFL for 11 Years
Cowboys Scramble for Answers After Zack Martin Calls It a Career
End of an Era
When the upcoming season rolls around, the latest NFL news reveals that the Dallas Cowboys will look a lot different. Nine-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Zach Martin is officially retiring.
9x Pro Bowl guard Zack Martin has informed the Cowboys he plans to retire after 11 seasons. (via @TomPelissero, @RapSheet, and @MikeGarafolo) pic.twitter.com/45g10c6WTD
— NFL (@NFL) February 20, 2025
Martin has been one of the faces of the Cowboys franchise and his departure marks a huge loss as Dallas attempts to protect Dak Prescott, who is coming off a season-ending hamstring injury. After failing to make the NFL playoffs, the Cowboys already faced some challenging roster decisions this offseason.
The jobs of owner Jerry Jones and the front office just got a lot more difficult in building the Dallas Cowboys roster.
Cowboys RG Zack Martin
• 11 years
• 171 starts including playoffs (169 at RG, 2 at RT)
• 9x All-Pro (7x first team)
• 9x Pro Bowler
• 7 career holding penalties
• 2014 1st round pick (16th)
• 52 starts at LT for Notre DameMartin played with pristine technique and… pic.twitter.com/Yv896jXqTs
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) February 21, 2025
The Cowboys Nearly Selected Johnny Manziel Over Zach Martin
A quick jump in the time machine reveals one of the more intriguing NFL rumors. Jones nearly pushed to land star quarterback Johnny Manziel over Martin. Manziel only made eight NFL starts before his career fizzled out.
Jason Garrett takes us behind the scenes of the #Cowboys draft room in 2014 when Jerry Jones wanted to take Johnny Manziel with the 16th overall pick.
Full interview: https://t.co/3w1x8gYxTW pic.twitter.com/LzGQVHG5jF
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 11, 2023
“Among the organization’s football minds, only Jerry Jones wanted Manziel,” ESPN’s Don Van Natta, Jr. wrote in 2014. “Jones’ son Stephen, the Cowboys executive vice president in charge of player personnel, had lobbied hard against choosing Manziel—‘I’m still so damn mad at Stephen,’ Jerry tells me—but Jones’ younger son, Jerry Jr., told me, ‘I’m the head of sales and marketing—where do you think I came down?’”
Zack Martin with one of the most ridiculous stats you’ll ever see 🤯 pic.twitter.com/c5t4rwUTPz
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 20, 2025
Turns out Zach Martin’s stats made the decision to pass on Manziel a game-changer, especially given the veteran’s impressive durability.
Author Gary Myers tells the story of how Jerry Jones ALMOST drafted Johnny Manziel: pic.twitter.com/72xDm6HWvQ
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) November 7, 2018
Can the Cowboys Return to the NFL Playoffs in 2025?
The Cowboys are looking to return to the NFL playoffs after the team’s 2024 hiatus. Dallas will find this challenging given Washington and Philadelphia are likely Super Bowl contenders in 2025.
Ya ya ya Zack Martin had more All-Pro selections than holding penalties BUT more importantly…
He was always about that action boss pic.twitter.com/chZ3vdPiks
— WeAreBigGuys (@WeAreBigGuys) February 20, 2025
The Cowboys have long been a betting favorite by the public. Our BetUS Sportsbook shows few people are high on Dallas in the early NFL predictions. The Cowboys face long odds at +2800 to win the NFC.
Dallas’ odds to win Super Bowl LX are even longer at +6000, an impossibility during the Prescott era.
