FRISCO — Zack Martin is not ready to speak with certainty.
Here in June, there’s no point in publicly painting himself into a corner. The Cowboys right guard plans to wait until after the upcoming season, the 11th of a clear-cut Pro Football Hall of Fame career, to formalize any retirement decision.
But he knows and acknowledged it Tuesday.
This season could be his last.
Martin is channeling the emotion from that possibility, or even probability, into something productive, as he focuses on making the 2024 season the best year he can. That means bouncing back from an unconventional season last year that started with a summer holdout and ended with Martin, despite earning a ninth career Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection, feeling underwhelmed with his performance.
The Cowboys already parted with a long-time fixture on their offensive line in March when unable to re-sign left tackle Tyron Smith. They could part with another great next offseason if Martin elects to step away from the game.
That development in 2025 would not surprise him.
“I’m not saying 100%, but I think it’s definitely in the realm of possibilities,” Martin told The Dallas Morning News. “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 turns 34 in November.
Last July, he held out from training camp to receive a compensation correction that better reflected his status as the best guard in the NFL. The Cowboys agreed Aug. 14 to a pay adjustment that added $8.5 million across two seasons. He missed about three weeks of camp.
Martin retook the practice field the next day in Oxnard, Calif.
But as can happen, he was not truly back.
San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Nick Bosa discussed this phenomenon last season following his training-camp holdout, which culminated in him becoming the highest-paid defender in NFL history. After the seventh game, he told 49ers reporters the missed time adversely affected him “a little bit,” keeping him from being as “locked in” with the usual rhythm of his game as he’d like.
A paraphrased version of Bosa’s remarks was shared Tuesday with Martin following a minicamp practice.
“I couldn’t agree more with that statement,” Martin said. “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. 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.”
Martin mitigated the Holdout Effect last summer as best he could.
When the Cowboys were in Oxnard, he trained with renowned offensive-line instructor Duke Manyweather, whose Frisco-based OL Masterminds program attracts top linemen from across the league. Martin continued that technical training with Manyweather this offseason.
A couple pounds heavier, he also added strength.
“I don’t think I played honestly up to my standard last year, really,” Martin said. “That’s another reason why I want to finish this year strong is I think I can play at a high level still. I think I may have come up a little bit short last year. I’ve got a little chip on my shoulder to get back to that consistent, kind of dominant player that I’ve been.”
Dominance is about all Martin has given the Cowboys since they drafted him in the 2014 first round.
He is a consistent leader and technician on their offensive line, his Pro Bowls outnumbering the accepted holding penalties against him. Teammates marvel about his balance and recovery. In many ways, he has been the franchise’s tone setter over his tenure.
None of that has been taken for granted.
More than ever, this season, it should be savored.
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