Zack Martin, the guy drafted instead of Johnny Manziel, bids adieu to Cowboys with retirement

By Canadian Press on March 5, 2025.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Zack Martin cleared his throat frequently to control his emotions while the man most responsible for his decorated 11-season career with the Dallas Cowboys dabbed at his moist eyes a few times.

The comic relief during Martin’s retirement ceremony with his only NFL team came soon enough Wednesday with veiled references to 2014. That’s when Stephen Jones persuaded his dad, owner and general manager Jerry Jones, to draft Martin at No. 16 overall while flashy star quarterback Johnny Manziel — a Texan, no less — was still on the board.

“To Jerry Jones and the Jones family, from the moment I put on a helmet, I dreamed of playing in the NFL. Even though it took a little convincing back in 2014, thank you for believing in me and giving me an opportunity,” Martin, a seven-time All-Pro right guard, said as laughter broke out in a room filled with family, coaches and teammates past and present.

Jerry Jones followed the 13-minute speech from Martin that opened the ceremony, and had to add his own Martin-over-Manziel moment. Again, no naming names on the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner from Texas A&M whose NFL career quickly flamed out.

“The reason you’re sitting in the middle, I think, is because he wanted to separate me and Stephen over here,” Jerry Jones said, prompting another round of laughter. “I still have knots on my shin from him kicking me under the table when we were sitting there discussing that draft day.”

Always diplomatic

On his draft night, Martin had to field questions about being the guy the Cowboys picked instead of Manziel. He was diplomatic then, and again when given a chance for a final answer following a career that almost certainly will lead to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, not to mention the club’s ring of honor.

“It’s so funny because I really didn’t think Dallas … it wasn’t really on my radar,” said the 34-year-old Martin, a former Notre Dame standout who was born and raised in Indianapolis. “I was just happy I got picked, and I was ready to come down here.”

Among several things he said gave him pride, Martin mentioned playing his entire career with one team. He ended his final season on injured reserve because of an ankle injury that required surgery. That was among his regrets.

Martin made the All-Pro team in each of the final five seasons that weren’t interrupted by injuries. But when he showed up in 2023 with a new two-year contract that put his salary more in line with the best offensive linemen in the NFL, Martin casually mentioned retirement.

“You guys took it and ran with it, per usual,” Martin said, looking at reporters in the first few rows in front of his stage. “But it’s definitely been on my mind.”

The time was right

Martin said he wanted to wait until after the Super Bowl to see if the itch to play might return. It didn’t. Now he joins former teammate and close friend Travis Frederick as a full-time father.

Frederick, a center drafted in the first round a year before Martin, 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.

Martin’s first quarterback, Tony Romo, attended the ceremony along with his last, Dak Prescott. Longtime Dallas left tackle Tyron Smith also was there along with plenty of other current and former Dallas players.

“I gave everything I had every single day for you guys,” Martin said during his opening speech. “You were my motivation, the reason I pushed myself to be great. Consistency was my game, and I took pride in making sure that every one of you could count on me every Sunday.”

Mr. consistency

Consistency was one of the things that stood out to the Cowboys as the 2014 draft approached. Martin ended up being the third offensive lineman taken in the first round by Dallas in a four-year stretch. Smith went in 2011, two years before Frederick.

“When you look at it and you’re picking that high, you want to make sure you’re right,” said Stephen Jones, the club’s executive vice president of personnel. “And one thing, when you read Zack, when you watched Zack on the tape, it was hard to find anything that you didn’t like about him.”

The missing piece

Just like tight end Jason Witten in his retirement speech seven years earlier, Martin couldn’t help but mention falling short of a championship.

He didn’t apologize to Jerry Jones about that the way Witten did, but the reality is Martin joins a long list of star players who couldn’t get the Cowboys past the divisional round of the playoffs for the first time since the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl title to cap the 1995 season.

“Obviously, I wish we could have gone all the way,” Martin said. “I think not finishing this year and ending the season on IR was tough. Everyone kind of has this fairy tale ending to a career, and you think you’re going to walk off the field drenched in sweat after a hard-fought game. Unfortunately, I was in sweatpants walking off the field. Other than that, I really don’t have any regrets.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press

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