Football <\/p>\n
The future Hall of Famer bid an emotional goodbye to football.<\/p>\n
\nMartin reflected on his time with the Cowboys as a player and his impact on the Dallas community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a privilege it is for the Dallas Cowboys to have you having been the player you\u2019ve been, and the only team you\u2019ve ever played for in professional sports,\u201d said owner and general manager Jerry Jones before comparing him to the greatest offensive lineman in NFL history. \u201cWe\u2019re honored \u2026 and we all know the great Larry Allen is someone we\u2019re proud of. I wanna tell you right now, having known him personally and being involved in every kind of serious decision he was involved in, you guys are twins.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re twins. And you\u2019ve had the same deep-seated respect for your fellow teammates and for what you were trying to contribute for the team to win. We all know everybody calls Larry the greatest, well, now we\u2019ve got a debate coming on.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a list of current and former teammates filed into The Star in Frisco to honor him \u2014 e.g., Dak Prescott, Tony Romo, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and many, many others who shared a field with The GOB \u2014 the solemn celebration featured everything from tears flowing to laughs ensuing as Martin and the Joneses remembered the drama of the 2014 draft that landed the former in Dallas at the expense of quarterback Johnny Manziel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an absolute privilege to run out of the tunnel every Sunday and give this city everything I had,\u201d he said, clearing his throat often out of emotion. \u201cI know many of you may have seen this decision coming, but that doesn\u2019t make it any easier. Football has been a huge part of my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s what I know. It\u2019s what I love. It\u2019s what has shaped me for as long as I can remember. I did not make this decision lightly. It comes after a long thought and prayer. But the time has come for my football journey to reach its end.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Jerry Jones brought to tears speaking on Dallas Cowboys legend – Ali Jawad, Sports Illustrated<\/a><\/h3>\n
Zack Martin wasn\u2019t the only emotional person on stage at his retirement press conference.<\/p>\n
\nIt was 11 years ago that Dallas Cowboys<\/a> owner Jerry Jones walked out of the war room at the Valley Ranch headquarters because he felt his team and son executive VP Stephen Jones made the wrong decision during the 2014 NFL Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Rather than selecting the exciting and crowd-drawing Johnny Manziel, the Cowboys selected a guard named Zack Martin with the 16th overall pick out of Notre Dame<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason you\u2019re sitting in the middle<\/a>, I think, is because they wanted to separate me and Stephen [Jones] because I still have knots on my chin from him kicking me under the table when we were sitting there discussing that draft day,\u201d Jones said jokingly with Martin sitting between the two at his retirement presser.<\/p>\n
Now fast forward 11 years, nine All-Pros, and Pro Bowl selection\u2019s later, an emotional Jones could only sit and listen as he enjoyed every bit of the moment of reflection while the future hall of fame Martin was delivering his retirement speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis room today, I think, is gathered for an appreciation of a person who has taken all the things this [organization] stands for, Jones said. \u201cAll that we\u2019re interested in, why we get up, and why we spend our time focused the way we do. If you sum up all the things this room is interested in.<\/p>\n
Tony Romo, sitting over there, many of your former colleagues, former players who played with you, are here. But if you take the common interest that we have in this room, that\u2019s why we are here to recognize you for a great career. Just as he [Zack Martin] was concise and efficient in his remarks that covered so many, many accomplishments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe player you are, the person you are, the leader you are, your unique inner play with the part of our time together has been exemplary, unsurpassed, yet very competitive and very strong,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\nCowboys Big-Name Cap Moves Clear Way To Sign Super Bowl Linebacker – Anthony Goss, <\/a>AthlonSports.com<\/a>
\n<\/h3>\nLet\u2019s just, for a brief moment, fantasize about Dallas making free agency moves.<\/p>\n
\nDallas has gotten active in the days leading up to the start of free agency. They made the deal for Odighizuwa, but also brought back C.J. Godwin, Juanyeh Thomas and Brock Hoffman. These were all in response to the bigger moves made behind the scenes. <\/p>\n
The Cowboys have \u201cflipped the switch\u201d on Dak Prescott\u2019s and CeeDee Lamb<\/a>\u2019s contracts, restructuring them in ways that now open up more cap space for the team to use potentially this offseason. <\/p>\n
Some of those resources will go into an expected contract extension for Micah Parsons, but also open up avenues for the team to build through free agency if they choose. <\/p>\n
As they explore the market, there are needs to be filled across the board, but could the Cowboys try to beef up their defense with another linebacker? Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> linebacker Nick Bolton is set to hit free agency and could be an option for Dallas. <\/p>\n
Bolton turned in another solid season in 2024 with 106 total tackles and three sacks, also recovering two fumbles. He may not drive <\/a>an extremely high price in free agency, so if he wants out of Kansas City, the Cowboys have good reason to show interest.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Cowboys restructure Prescott and Lamb deals, but any impact on free agency is murky – Schuyler Dixon, Associated Press<\/a><\/h3>\n
Jerry Jones tries to temper expectations for free agency.<\/p>\n
\nThe Dallas Cowboys created nearly $57 million in salary cap space by restructuring the contracts of star quarterback Dak Prescott and his top receiver, CeeDee Lamb.<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen what the wiggle room will mean next week in free agency, where the Cowboys have been conservative at best in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think \u2018aggressive\u2019 is the right word,\u201d owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Wednesday after a retirement ceremony for seven-time All-Pro right guard Zack Martin. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call us really void in any area, void if you include what we\u2019re going to do in the draft. I\u2019m not looking at free agency as a place to fill a void.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for outside options, it\u2019s been a decade-plus since the Cowboys signed a free agent they expected to have a significant role as a starter.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs opportunity would come up, not from the draft, not from within, as opportunity comes up, we\u2019ll wait,\u201d Jerry Jones said. \u201cWe\u2019ll look and see on the opportunity that basically, both defense and offense, is to complement what we\u2019re wanting to do with a Dak-led team.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n