Zack Martin added to list of Cowboys from this era who never reached the Super Bowl

The careers of so many Cowboys would look different if there was more success in the playoffs.

Father time is cruel and eventually comes for us all. After it was reported that Dallas Cowboys‘ longtime right guard, Zack Martin, would be retiring, there was no debate on social media about whether he was a Hall of Fame player—it is simply a fact that he will be.

The unfortunate part about Martin and many other Cowboys greats of this era is that they never got close to reaching the Super Bowl. With Washington reaching the NFC Championship this year, Dallas officially has the title of longest drought for reaching the championship game for an NFC team.

With 30 years passing, many cornerstone players have dawned The Star in Dallas but never had the opportunity to place their name in the lore of the National Football League.

This list could grow depending on the Cowboys’ success under Brian Schottenheimer. DeMarcus Lawrence is a free agent, so if the team decides not to re-sign him this offseason, he could be listed after Martin’s. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are in their prime and under contract for four more seasons. Could this be their last ride in Dallas before they move on to another team or retire?

There is never enough discussion about the team that walks away from the Super Bowl empty-handed and on the other side of the win column. You never know when your team will make it back. That game and moment could have been their only shot at the Lombardi Trophy. Look at the Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals. They might have one of the league’s top three quarterbacks and have not returned to the big game since 2021 after losing to the Los Angeles Rams.

Zack Martin’s best shot at an NFC Championship game, let alone a Super Bowl, came during his rookie season (2014), and two years later, Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott led the charge as rookie sensations. That was it. Dallas had three consecutive 12-win seasons under Mike McCarthy from 2021-2023, but Dallas lost two Wild Card games at home and on the road in the Divisional Round to the San Francisco 49ers.

To restore hope for the Cowboys fanbase, Micah Parsons is making it known that Martin will be the last cornerstone player of his era to not make a run at the Super Bowl.

Since joining the Cowboys, Parsons has believed he can be the best and make a deep run in the postseason every year. Parsons has been vocal this offseason about the team’s need to spend in free agency and about trying to trade for Myles Garrett. It will be a step in the right direction if the Cowboys do anything more than the bare minimum, as they did in 2023.

When a defense has an elite pass rusher like Parsons on the roster, there should be Super Bowl expectations every season. When an offensive line is the strength of a team centered around a player like Martin, Super Bowl expectations should follow. Unfortunately for Martin, he will now sit on the couch at home with his family if Parsons helps Dallas change the narrative in 2025 or beyond.