Dallas Cowboys' Zack Martin out rest of the season due to ankle surgery, Mike McCarthy says

Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Zack Martin will have season-ending ankle surgery, head coach Mike McCarthy revealed Thursday. 

Martin injured his ankle in a game against the Houston Texans last month, keeping him out of the previous two games. McCarthy said the team initially hoped he would be ready to return to the field for this Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, but the injury did not progress as hoped.

"There was a conversation that went on yesterday and everybody involved felt it was best for him to get the surgery," McCarthy said.

McCarthy said backup linemen Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass will continue to fill in for Martin on the field, but said his leadership will be missed.

"He brings so much to the team, to the team culture. We all recognize what kind of player he has been here in Dallas for his whole career, but the type of person he is ... he makes people gravitate to him," McCarthy said of Martin. 

Zack Martin says "goodbye" to the Dallas Cowboys? 

Martin is in the last year of his contract so he may have played his final snap with the Cowboys, building a Hall of Fame resume. Martin declined to address the future when speaking to reporters after practice Thursday, only saying he was focused on getting healthy.

In the first 10 years of his career, Martin was named a first-team All-Pro seven times and made the Pro Bowl nine times. He has only missed more than two games in a season one other time since joining the Cowboys in 2014 out of Notre Dame. 

Separately Thursday, Martin was named the Cowboys nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which is given to a player for excellence on and off the field. Quarterback Dak Prescott won the award in 2022. Specifically, Martin is being recognized for his work supporting the National Medal of Honor Museum, which is nearing completion in Arlington.

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