Advertisement
This is member-exclusive content
icon/ui/info filled

sportsCowboys

After hinting at retirement, Zack Martin ‘sets the record straight’ at Cowboys’ camp

Dallas’ grizzled right guard shared his experiences with football mortality, holdouts and more amid his 11th training camp.

OXNARD, Calif. — Zack Martin wanted to be clear: He’s not thinking about retirement.

The Cowboys’ All-Pro guard hinted at retirement during an interview with The Dallas Morning News this offseason.

On Friday he was asked about that again and wanted to end speculation.

Cowboys

Be the smartest Cowboys fan. Get the latest news.

Or with:

“I got killed on this earlier in the offseason and I just want to set the record straight,” he said. “I’m focused on this year and I’m excited to be out here and that’s all I got to say about that.”

The 33-year-old Martin is entering the final season of a restructured contract. He held out of training camp last summer to get a raise of a little over $9 million, which made him one of the highest-paid players at his position.

Advertisement

With receiver CeeDee Lamb in a contract holdout, Martin said he could relate to the situation. Martin said he was lonely at his Dallas home because his family had left the house, thinking he would be here in training camp.

Instead, Martin waited until his agents finalized a deal.

Advertisement

“It’s a tough situation right,” he said. “I went through it last year. It’s stressful. You want to be out here with your guys. I know more than anyone what he’s going through and he just has to know everyone in that locker room has his back and we know hopefully he’ll be out here sooner rather than later.”

Martin enters his 11th year with an impressive resume. He’s been named to nine Pro Bowl teams and seven All-Pro squads. He was also named to the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade team.

This offseason, the Cowboys replaced two veterans along the offensive line in left tackle Tyron Smith and center Tyler Biadasz. Martin called it weird not to have Smith on the field with him. The two normally walk onto the field together at the start of practices.

Not this year.

As was the case last year, with Martin on the back end of a fantastic career, the Cowboys will be cautious with him during training camp. Martin will get an off day from time to time, as Smith did in the late stages of his time with the team.

“I think for me, I just have to be smart,” Martin said. “As much as I want to be out there for every single rep of every practice it’s important for me to understand, I got to take care of myself and go into the season healthy and the coaches have done a great job working with me this training camp. And we’re going to have a nice schedule going forward so I can be feeling my best when the season comes around.”

Twitter: @calvinwatkins

Advertisement
Related Stories
View More

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.