The Dallas Cowboys will have to potentially finish out the rest of the 2020 season without one of their best offensive linemen. On Monday, ESPN's Todd Archer reported that All-Pro offensive guard Zack Martin had been placed on injured reserve with a calf injury. Patrik Walker of CBS Sports reports that this move was indeed expected. This means that Martin will miss at least the next three games -- but could potentially sit out the rest of the season.
Apart of the extent of the calf injury itself, the Cowboys currently find themselves at the bottom of the NFC East with a 3-8 record and have the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday night. While Dallas could technically catch the New York Giants or Washington Football Team in the division, one has to wonder how likely that is. Should the Cowboys fall out of the postseason race, Dallas could make the decision to keep Martin on the sideline for the remainder of the year.
Martin injured his calf during the Cowboys' Thanksgiving blowout loss to Washington. The All-Pro guard was playing tackle on the short-handed offensive line, and was driven backwards into quarterback Andy Dalton by Ryan Kerrigan before going down. The Cowboys were quick to rule Martin out for the remainder of the matchup. Head coach Mike McCarthy said that Martin would be out for multiple weeks, and that indeed will be the case.
The injury bug has feasted on the Cowboys offensive front this year. Martin joins offensive tackle Tyron Smith, offensive tackle Mitch Hyatt, offensive tackle La'el Collins and center Tyler Biadasz on the injured reserve list.
