{"id":27749,"date":"2025-02-21T08:46:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T08:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749"},"modified":"2025-02-21T08:47:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T08:47:15","slug":"27749","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-1437759949-e1740097041577.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-1437759949-e1740097041577.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-1437759949-e1740097041577.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/GettyImages-1437759949-e1740097041577.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Zack Martin\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"368\" data-dom-ready-time=\"1011\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<p><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Zack Martin<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0are facing substantial change this offseason, with former offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, taking over from the departed Mike McCarthy as head coach.<\/p>\n<p>And with 8 starters set to hit free agency in March, the team will likely look significantly different in 2025.<\/p>\n<h2>Zack Martin Set To Retire From Football After 11 Years<\/h2>\n<p>Well\u2026.make that 7 starters, as one prominent starter, who was thought to be heading to free agency, or perhaps re-signing with the team, is now retiring, per Tom Pelissero.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"ql-video\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1892699123528143104&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnfl%2Fcowboys-all-pro-guard-zack-martin-retire-11-nfl-seasons&amp;sessionId=0b08a629d6f7257133f4a3182d0ff812799665fa&amp;siteScreenName=SInow&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>As a result, Dallas have a\u00a0Zack Martin-sized hole to fill in their offensive line, one that is currently being filled by last year\u2019s stand-in, Brock Hoffman. Hoffman had a decent year in 2024, grading out at a respectable\u00a066.3 from Pro Football Focus whilst serving as the team\u2019s pivot after the offseason departure of Conor Williams.<\/p>\n<p>However, another option presented would be to attempt to find an upgrade over Hoffman in the form of Pro Bowler and former\u00a0Detroit Lion\u00a0and\u00a0Baltimore Raven,\u00a0Kevin Zeitler, per\u00a0Mauricio Rodriguez of A To Z Sports.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the Cowboys want to upgrade the OL, they could also make a move in March, though it seems unlikely. There are other free agents that could make sense but at 34 years old, Zeitler is the kind of veteran the Cowboys could target.\u00a0<em>Pro Football Focus<\/em> projects his deal at $6.25 million, which is a potential bargain if he keeps up his play.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Zeitler Suggested As Replacement For Martin<\/h2>\n<p>Martin was the Cowboys\u2019 join longest-tenured player alongside defensive end, Demarcus Lawrence, whose contract is also up next month. And with 9 All-Pros and Pro-Bowls apiece, his future-Hall of Fame-career level play will not be replaced easily.<\/p>\n<p>But Zeitler was sneakily one of the better interior offensive linemen in the NFL last year, garnering a massive\u00a086.8 grade from PFF\u00a0\u2013 and had an arguably even better year than his sole Pro Bowl season the previous year, in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas could opt to take a chance on Hoffman, however paying Zeitler a very reasonable \u2248 $6 million deal could pay dividends for an offensive line that took a slight dip from its elite level play that Cowboys fans have been accustomed to over the past few years.<\/p>\n<p>There is also the issue of rookie, Tyler Guyton, who struggled in his rookie year. If Guyton\u2019s play fails to improve, the team may need to push Pro Bowler, Tyler Smith out to tackle, leaving a hole at guard.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, the Cowboys may feel that their current cap situation, which is\u00a0tight to say the least, may not have room to add an ageing, stop-gap player who likely won\u2019t play more than a year for the organization \u2013 and could also face serious regression as he enters his age-35 season.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, this is big news for Dallas, and they will have to find a way to address the trenches in some form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Zack Martin The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0are facing substantial change this offseason, with former offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, taking over from the departed Mike McCarthy as head coach. And&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement&quot; - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement&quot; - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Zack Martin The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0are facing substantial change this offseason, with former offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, taking over from the departed Mike McCarthy as head coach. And...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-21T08:46:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-21T08:47:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01jjba4t373336chrcbr.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749\",\"name\":\"\\\"BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement\\\" - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01jjba4t373336chrcbr.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-21T08:46:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-21T08:47:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01jjba4t373336chrcbr.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01jjba4t373336chrcbr.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8220;BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement\" - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement\" - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"Getty Zack Martin The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0are facing substantial change this offseason, with former offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, taking over from the departed Mike McCarthy as head coach. And...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2025-02-21T08:46:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-21T08:47:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01jjba4t373336chrcbr.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749","name":"\"BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement\" - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01jjba4t373336chrcbr.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-21T08:46:51+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-21T08:47:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01jjba4t373336chrcbr.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/01jjba4t373336chrcbr.jpg","width":1200,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=27749#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8220;BREAKING: Cowboys Target 34-Year-Old Pro Bowl Guard to Replace Zack Martin After Shocking Retirement&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27749"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27761,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27749\/revisions\/27761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}