Zack Martin is retiring after a decorated career that included seven All-Pro seasons at right guard with the Dallas Cowboys, two people with knowledge of the decision said Thursday.
Martin informed Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones of his decision in a meeting Thursday, one of the people told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement was planned.
Martin, 34, didn’t make it through his 11th and final season with the Cowboys because of an ankle injury that eventually required surgery. He said when he was shut down after 10 games that he wasn’t ready to make a decision on returning.
The question of retirement came up when Martin held out in the preseason in 2023 before agreeing to a reworked contract with a raise in what was essentially a two-year deal.
Martin was an immediate anchor at right guard after the Cowboys drafted him out of Notre Dame with the 16th pick in 2014.
Texas A&M star Johnny Manziel was on the board when the Cowboys picked, but executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones persuaded his dad, Jerry, to go with Martin instead of the flashy quarterback whose NFL career quickly flamed out.
Martin was an All-Pro as a rookie and earned that honor in each of his final five seasons not interrupted by injuries. He was a nine-time Pro Bowler and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2010s all-decade team.
The Cowboys built one of the best offensive lines in the NFL by drafting for those positions in the first round three times in four seasons. It started with left tackle Tyron Smith in 2011, followed by center Travis Frederick in 2013 and Martin.
Frederick surprisingly retired after his sixth season in 2019. He was sidelined all of 2018 by Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that affects the nervous system. Frederick decided after returning for one more season that he couldn’t perform to his expectations.
The Cowboys let Smith, an eight-time Pro Bowler, leave in free agency last year. The departure of Martin leaves the Dallas line in its biggest transition period in more than a decade going into the first year of quarterback Dak Prescott’s four-year, $240 million contract. It’s the first NFL deal with an average annual value of $60 million.
Martin’s decision comes as first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer tries to rebuild a rushing attack that was among the worst in the NFL last season. Rico Dowdle was the first undrafted running back to rush for 1,000 yards, and he is a free agent.
The Cowboys are likely to target a running back in the April draft, but the offensive line just moved up the list as a position of need with Martin not returning.
Brock Hoffman started in Martin’s place late last season and figures to continue in that role. The Cowboys are settled at left guard with Tyler Smith, their first-round pick in 2022, and probably at center with Cooper Beebe, a third-round choice last year.
Terence Steele has been the starter at right tackle most of the time since joining Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2020, but his future could be in question. Tyler Guyton, a first-round pick last year, figures to go to training camp as the starting left tackle, depending on what the Cowboys do in the draft.
The Cowboys reached the divisional round twice in Martin’s first three seasons, including his rookie year when DeMarco Murray set a club record with 1,845 yards. They reached the playoffs four other times with Martin before going 7-10 in his final season, ending a three-year postseason streak.
Like so many stars before him, Martin couldn’t help Dallas get through to the NFC championship game. The club’s 29-year run without a trip to the conference title game is the longest in the NFC. The Cowboys last went that far during the 1995 season, when they won their fifth Super Bowl.