Zack Martin closing in on decision to return to Cowboys or retire from the NFL
After suffering a season-ending ankle injury that put him on the injured reserve for the first time in his career, seven-time First-Team All-Pro guard Zack Martin has the possibility of retirement staring him down going into 2025.
The 34-year-old has cemented himself as a future Hall of Famer and injuries to his ankle and shoulder bothered him to the point where he missed a Pro Bowl for only the second time in 11 seasons. Now, he is taking time off to not only heal, but to decide if it’s time to hang it up for good.
“First off, I want to try to get healthy,” Martin said at a promotional event at the Super Bowl Radio Row on Tuesday. “[I’ll decide] here in the next month, six weeks. Me and my wife have been talking about it, but right now I’m focused on getting healthy and seeing how I feel with this ankle repaired and whether or not I’ll give it a go again.”
Martin has mentioned in the past about not wanting to cheat the process or the preparation that goes into being in the NFL, and he wants to make sure he can approach that side of the game correctly as well from a mental standpoint.
“Just mentally, if I’m ready,” he said on what else goes into the decision. “I know what it takes in this league and what all goes into it. I think I just need to get my head mentally around if I want to commit to that for another year or not.”
In 2024, the season for the Cowboys flew off the rails once injuries began to pile up. In a year that Martin expected the team to sustain success, he was honest about his surprise on how it turned out.
“It was just a weird year for everyone,” Martin said. “For whatever reason this year, something just didn’t click. It’s just difficult being in and out of the lineup for a while. It’s tough. That’s the first time I’ve ever been on IR.”
With that in the rearview, Martin can safely predict at least one thing in his future: his status as a future Hall of Famer. As he maintained that he doesn’t look that far ahead, he said this decision in front of him is the only thing on his mind.
“I think I’ve done a good job in my career in focusing on what I was doing in my career at that time,” he said. “What I will try to do now is figure out what the next chapter of my life looks like, whether that’s playing football in Dallas, playing football somewhere else, retiring, whatever that may be. We’re just trying to figure that out.”
One thing that could lure him back to Dallas is his appreciation for new head coach Brian Schottenheimer and how he treats the people around the Cowboys facility. That paired with Martin having already talked to new offensive coordinator Klayton Adams has excitement building.
“I’m excited for him, man,” Martin said. “He’s made an impression in that building last couple of years. I think what he does really well is having relationships in the building with everyone, whether it be an offensive player, defensive player, whatever it may be. I know it’s at the forefront of what he wants to bring to the organization, those relationships he brings to the team.”
