The difficult season for the Dallas Cowboys continued on Thursday with the loss of a key player for the rest of the 2024 season.
Head coach Mike McCarthy announced that seven-time first-team All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler Zack Martin will have season-ending surgery because of a right ankle issue that continues to plague the 34-year-old guard, per Todd Archer of ESPN.
Martin’s injury is another on a long list of setbacks for Dallas (5-7) this season. QB Dak Prescott (hamstring) and star DE DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) were placed on injured reserve and three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Micah Parsons missed four games with a high ankle sprain.
In addition to the ankle injury, Martin is dealing with shoulder problems. With the veteran set to miss the rest of the 2024 season and scheduled to go into the offseason as a free agent, the potential Pro Football Hall of Famer may have played his final snap in Dallas.
Regardless of where Martin goes from here, he has had a sensational career. Selected No. 16 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, he became the first Cowboys rookie to be named a first-team All-Pro in franchise history. With his nine Pro Bowl selections, Martin only trails 11-time Pro Bowler Jason Witten and Hall of Famers Bob Lilly (11), Larry Allen (10) and Mel Renfro (10) in Cowboys history, according to StatMuse.
An improved run game has helped the Cowboys to back-to-back division wins over the Washington Commanders (8-5) and New York Giants (2-10), but the loss of Martin is big blow for a team still searching for consistency.
Since Prescott has been sidelined, backup QB Cooper Rush has played solidly (1,008 passing yards, five TDs and only two interceptions). But he has been sacked seven times, including five times against the Houston Texans (8-5) in a 34-10 blowout loss on Nov. 18.
Martin’s absence won’t help Dallas in pass protection. Brock Hoffman, who went undrafted in 2022 and replaced Martin the past two games, will probably replace him.
“I thought Brock has done a really nice job,” McCarthy said, per Reuters. “He’s brought an edge to us.”
In Week 14, the Cowboys will play the floundering Bengals (4-8) at home on “Monday Night Football.”
