NEW ORLEANS – Being in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX is a bittersweet moment for Zack Martin. On one hand, he's the Cowboys nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, one of the most prestigious honors in the NFL.
On the other hand, he's not in town playing for a chance to win a Lombardi trophy.
"I mean, it'll be cool to experience it as a fan, but obviously wish we could have played in it at some point in my career." Martin said.
Martin, who turned 34 in November and missed the final seven games of the 2024 season with an ankle injury, has a decision to make on whether he wants to return for what would be his 12th NFL season.
"First off, I want to try to get healthy. Here in the next month, six weeks, me and my wife have been talking about it," Martin said of his decision timeline. "Right now, I'm focused on getting healthy and seeing how I feel with this ankle kind of repaired and whether or not I'm going to go out and try to go again."
The health of his ankle is only part of what goes into his decision. Martin wants to feel like he can play at the same high level he has for the entirety of his illustrious career up to this point.
"Just mentally if I'm ready to, I know what it takes to be an elite player in this league and what all goes into it," Martin said of what else goes into his choice. "I think I just got to get my head mentally around if I want to commit to that for another year or not."
A seven-time first team All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler, Martin has nothing left to prove in his career and is considered to be a fairly easy entrant into the Hall of Fame when he decides to hang up his cleats. But the thought of joining football's elite in Canton, Ohio hasn't crossed his mind yet, and he's focused on the present just like he has been his whole career.
"I think I've done a nice job in my career to really focus on what I was doing at that time throughout my career, and that's what I'm trying to do now," Martin said.
"Still trying to figure out what the next chapter in my life looks like, whether that be playing football here in Dallas, playing football somewhere else, retiring, whatever that may be, that's what I'm trying to figure out."
The end of the 2024 season was the first time in his career that Martin was placed on injured reserve. Add on the fact that even while he was playing, the Cowboys started the year 3-7, making for an all-around challenging season.
"It was tough," Martin said. "I think if you asked anyone in the locker room it was just kind of a weird year for everyone. We had high expectations coming off of three great seasons in a row, and for whatever reason this year just something didn't click, so it was difficult."
Now, Brian Schottenheimer is tasked with trying to turn around that challenging season in his first head coaching stint. He's made an early impression on a lot of folks in the building already, including Martin.
"I'm excited for him, man," Martin said. "He's made an impression on that building the last couple of years, I think what he does really well is he does a great job of having relationships in the building with everyone, whether it be an offensive player or a defensive player."
"I know that's kind of at the forefront of what he wants to bring to the organization is those relationships within the team and throughout the people who work there, and I think he'll do a great job with that."
Schottenheimer is known for having a strong run game in the past during his time as a coordinator, and the hiring of offensive coordinator Klayton Adams shows that the Cowboys will emphasize that aspect of the offense, something that Martin is excited about.
"He's committed to the run game and then working off that run game," Martin said. "I think some of the hires… they're very committed to that style of football and run the football to establish our identity as a football team."
As Martin goes about the next few weeks mulling over his future, deep down inside, there still seems to be a part of him that wants to put on the star helmet once again in 2025.
"A little bit." Martin said with a laugh when asked if he wants to come back.
