Cowboys’ Zack Martin opens door to possibly retire following 2024 season

Zack Martin is adding himself to the list of members in the Dallas Cowboys‘ organization who could be entering their final season with the team.

The All-Pro guard told the Dallas Morning News that he’s considering retirement following the 2024 season.

“I’m not saying 100%, 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, who turns 34 in November, has been the Cowboys’ most reliable player ever since they selected him in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He’s been named a Pro Bowler and to an All-Pro team in nine of his 10 seasons in the league, missing no more than two games in a season in all but one year.

However, even though Martin made first-team All-Pro again last year, he felt his performance wasn’t up to par. He held out of the start of training camp to get a pay raise. He eventually got one, returning to the team in August after receiving the raise. He reworked his contract again this offseason, allowing the Cowboys to potentially spread the cap hit of his contract over the 2025 and 2026 seasons if the 2024 season is his last with the team.

With contract issues out of the way, Martin said he has a “chip on my shoulder to get back to that consistent, kind of dominant player that I’ve been.”

“I’ve had a couple years — obviously, last year with the contract and a couple other years with some injury stuff I was dealing with during training camp — where you really don’t get those reps,” Martin said. “It’s hard to explain, but it kind of feels like you’re always playing catch up.

“I felt like last year, you roll in a couple weeks before the season, and you’re just trying to play catch up. I need to get in the right conditioning shape. I need to get work with the guys I’m playing next to. I’m very excited to be able to go to training camp this year and get in my rhythm before the season starts.”

Cowboys must pay CeeDee Lamb after Justin Jefferson’s massive deal

The 2024 season is shaping up to be a make-or-break year for many in Dallas. In addition to Martin, head coach Mike McCarthy, quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb are among the notable names entering the final season of their respective deals. Lamb has held out of Cowboys minicamp practices this week as he seeks a new deal, while it doesn’t seem likely McCarthy and Prescott will get extensions ahead of the 2024 season.

The Cowboys went 12-5 for the third straight season in 2023, but had their biggest playoff disappointment yet in that stretch. They lost to the Green Bay Packers in the opening round of the playoffs as they still haven’t made it to the NFC Championship Game since 1995.