a living legend gone
Zack Martin has retired from the NFL after 11 years.
Cowboys right guard Zack Martin recently announced that he is retiring from pro football. Martin, who is 34 years old, just finished his tenth year in the NFL, all of which was with the Dallas Cowboys. Martin had just had his first year when there was apparent regression. He put up the worst performance of his career against the Detroit Lions, where PFF graded him 0.0 as a pass blocker.
Despite the struggles this season, Martin is undoubtedly the greatest offensive guard of our generation, not just in Dallas history but in NFL history. From 2014 to 2022, he put up some of the best seasons an offensive lineman can have, all while staying healthy. He was indeed the Dallas Cowboys “Iron Man.” Without a doubt, Martin will not only end up in the Dallas Cowboys ring of honor along with Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick, but he should, and most likely will, be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
It’s a shame that this era of elite Dallas offensive line play ended without a single conference championship appearance. The second “Great Wall of Dallas” was just as good as the first one in the mid-90s, but it did not even have a quarter of success. However, the lack of team accomplishments is the only thing Zack Martin hasn’t accomplished. Martin, a nine-time pro bowler and nine-time all-pro, will ride off into the sunset as a top-two guard in Dallas Cowboys history.