Cowboys’ Zack Martin being evaluated for concussion vs. Cardinals, questionable to return

This is the last thing the Dallas Cowboys can afford right now. Having already lost starting tackles La’El Collins and Tyron Smith for the season — due to hip and neck surgery, respectively — there is now concern for perennial All-Pro right guard Zack Martin. Collins hasn’t played a snap all season and Smith was lost for the year ahead of Week 5, leaving Martin as the only All-Pro remaining on the once vaunted Dallas offensive line. He’d get a swift evaluation on a shoulder stinger midway through the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals, but returned to the field without missing a snap.

Shortly thereafter, he went down on a run play and stayed down, finally leaving the field under his own power but with the assistance of the Cowboys medical staff. It’s unclear if Martin is also being additionally evaluated for the same shoulder stinger along with the fact he took a blow to the head, and is undergoing a cognitive test under the league’s concussion protocol, but this is certainly something to keep an eye on going forward. 

He has been replaced by second-year talent Connor McGovern, presenting another talent drop off in the trenches, and with Andy Dalton struggling early in his first start following the season-ending injury to Dak Prescott last week. Now in his seventh NFL season, the former first-round pick has only missed two regular season games in his entire career. 

McGovern was essentially a redshirt for the Cowboys in his rookie season, spending the entire season on injured reserve due to a torn pec suffered in the offseason. The former second-round pick has struggled to get on the field in 2020 as he attempts to both work back to football form from injury but also having undergone a coaching change in Mike McCarthy — who wants to see more from the ex-Penn State standout before feeding him more snaps. With Martin heading to the locker room, McGovern will get more snaps than the Cowboys would like against the Cardinals, considering it’s to replace a perennial Pro Bowler and arguably the best guard in the NFL.

This is a developing story.