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FRISCO — The Dallas Cowboys' offensive line took a major hit this week when Zack Martin informed the team of his plans to retire this offseason. His historic 11-year career officially comes to an end with a number of accolades that will have him bound for the Pro Football Hall of Fame within the next decade at most.
Admittedly, there were signs pointing to this eventual conclusion for some time. Martin's outstanding tenure also consisted of some notable injuries including a degenerative ankle problem that he pushed through for years.
Further aggravation of those ailments ended his final season early and ultimately contributed to this decision.
Nonetheless, there is a short window of remembrance and reflection on Martin's impact at The Star. While the future Hall of Famer may have not seen the marked accomplishments in the postseason, he still played an integral role on historic Cowboys lines.
Most notably, Cowboys fans will remember the unit anchored by Martin, Travis Frederick and Tyron Smith. A post on X about that pairing prompted a shocking story from Cowboys defensive back Juanyeh Thomas.
"During practice in 2023, I blitzed off the edge and tried to hit a move on Tyron. He punched the hell out my chest… My breathing ain’t been right since…" he wrote on X.
At the time, Thomas was a former undrafted signee, trying to make his way up the Cowboys' ranks. Taking such a hit certainly serves as a harsh introduction to the NFL.
That 2023 season was also Smith's final season with the Cowboys, marking the end of his own remarkable tenure with the franchise. Frederick retired in 2020 due to an autoimmune disease.
Martin's announcement marks the official end of an era for Dallas' line and sparks the urgency for the team to find the necessary replacements. Left guard Tyler Smith looks to be one capable of taking on such a role.
However, there are questions abound with the up and comers scattered across the rest of the line. Not only will the Cowboys need to solidify Martin's replacement, but ensure the prospects like Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe continue to develop heading into next season.
More must-reads:
- Commanders' Jayden Daniels expands on prediction for Terry McLaurin contract standoff
- Commanders' Terry McLaurin reportedly wants more money than previously thought
- The 'NFL QBs with the most games started' quiz
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Bill Belichick takes another shot at Patriots owner Robert Kraft
It is no secret that the relationship between Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft has been strained since Belichick left the New England Patriots. Belichick took an obvious shot at Kraft and the Patriots owner's son, Jonathan, who is the president of the team, during an interview with Ben Volin of the Boston Globe that was published on Thursday. Belichick is preparing for his first-ever season as a college coach with North Carolina. When asked what he has noticed that is different about coaching in college versus the NFL, Belichick insinuated he has enjoyed not having to answer to any members of the Kraft family while doing his job in Chapel Hill. "It’s a much more cohesive, and I’d say unified, view of what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to do it," Belichick told Volin. "It’s a lot of football, and there’s not much in your way. "There’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son. There’s no cap, everything that goes with the marketing and everything else, which I’m all for that. But it’s way less of what it was at that level." Shots fired. There is no way to interpret that other than a criticism of Robert and Jonathan Kraft. Had Belichick left it at not having to answer to a team owner, you could make the case that he was speaking generally about the NFL. The fact that he added in "owner's son" makes it obvious he was referring to his old bosses, as both Robert and Jonathan are hands-on with the Patriots. Belichick is almost certainly bitter over the way his tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season. He coached the Patriots for 24 seasons and won six Super Bowls, so he likely felt he should have been given more time to turn things around in the post-Tom Brady era. The Kraft family preferred to move on after a 4-13 campaign. Though Belichick insists he is solely focused on the upcoming UNC season, this is not the first time in recent months that he has gone out of his way to throw a jab at Robert Kraft.
Tiger Woods unintentionally molded Scottie Scheffler into the best golfer in the world
Scottie Scheffler is the most dominant golfer we've seen since Tiger Woods in his prime, but he wasn't always at this level. It took Scheffler 73 starts before he finally won his first PGA Tour event at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. Since then, he's rattled off 21 worldwide wins, and he has Woods to thank. Ahead of the 2025 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, Scheffler explained how playing with Woods in the final round of the 2020 Masters taught him a valuable lesson about what it takes to succeed on the PGA Tour. "The biggest change I felt like I made my first couple years on Tour to 2022 was the question always was, hey, how come you haven't won? The reason I felt like I hadn't won yet is I hadn't put myself in position enough times. I'd only played in a couple final groups. I always found myself just a little bit on the outside looking in, and that's one of the things I learned from playing with Tiger," Scheffler told reporters on Wednesday. "It was like, we're in 20th place or whatever going into Sunday at the Masters. Tiger has won five Masters; he's got no chance of winning the tournament. Then we showed up on the first hole and I was watching him read his putt, and I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, this guy is in it right now.'" Scheffler recalled how locked in Woods was in the final round despite being out of contention. He also mentioned how impressed he was when Woods birdied five of his last six holes after making a 10 on the par-3 12th. "I just admired the intensity that he brought to each round, and that's something that I try to emulate," Scheffler added. "It's not an easy thing to play a golf tournament. If I'm going to take a week off, I might as well just stay home. I'm not going to come out here to take a week off. If I'm playing in a tournament, I'm going to give it my all. That's really all it boils down to. "That was something that I just thought about for a long time. I felt like a change I needed to make was bringing that same intensity to each round and each shot … I think it's just the amount of consistency and the intensity that I bring to each round of golf is not taking shots off, not taking rounds off, not taking tournaments off." What used to be a weakness for Scheffler quickly became a superpower. The World No. 1 approaches every PGA Tour round like it's the final round of a major championship, and it shows in his consistency. Scheffler has played 72 competitive rounds this season. He's shot over par only seven times, and two of them came at the brutally tough U.S. Open in which only one player finished the tournament under par. Dating back to the Travelers Championship, he's shot in the 60s in 19 of his last 20 rounds. That level of consistency is nearly impossible to beat. The rest of the PGA Tour can't be happy that Woods gave Scheffler the secret sauce to dominating professional golf a few years ago.
'Look out for this dude': Former NFL exec has warning about unexpected SEC quarterback
Browns 'trust' Dillon Gabriel more than Shedeur Sanders for a very good reason
The Cleveland Browns seemed to say plenty regarding their feelings about rookie quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders when they repeatedly listed Gabriel above Sanders on unofficial depth charts throughout August. Sanders played well in Cleveland's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8 when Gabriel was recovering from a hamstring injury. Gabriel then received his opportunity to shine in the Aug. 16 preseason matchup at the Philadelphia Eagles when Sanders was dealing with an oblique issue. For a piece published on Thursday, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic suggested that the stats from those contests show "the Browns trust Gabriel more than they do Sanders" heading into their Week 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. "The Browns used pre-snap motion 45 percent of the time with Gabriel against the Philadelphia Eagles," Lloyd wrote. "They used it 31 percent of the time in Sanders’ game against the Carolina Panthers, according to TruMedia data. On third downs, that increased to 63 percent for Gabriel and plummeted to 18 percent for Sanders." The Browns selected Gabriel in the third round of this year's draft before they made a trade to take a flier on Sanders at overall pick No. 144. Against the Panthers, Sanders completed 14-of-23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. To compare, Gabriel connected on 13-of-18 passes for 143 yards with a pick-six against the Eagles. He was also credited with a lost fumble. "Gabriel was three of four on [tight-window throws] against the Eagles, according to NextGen Stats, and two of those turned third downs into first downs," Lloyd added. "Sanders was zero for four on tight-window throws against the Panthers." It's worth noting that none of this matters as of publication. Veteran Joe Flacco will serve as Cleveland's Week 1 starter, and the Browns seem serious about having Flacco, Gabriel, Sanders and backup Kenny Pickett on the active roster through at least a portion of the upcoming season. The trade deadline will arrive on Nov. 4. Lloyd mentioned that "a fear that Sanders may develop elsewhere" is a reason the Browns are holding onto the former Colorado star when they prefer Gabriel. As of now, Sanders is on track to continue his development while working in the Browns film room as an unused quarterback throughout the fall.
Braves' Brian Snitker Announces Matt Olson News After 746 Straight Games
Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson has been the most durable player in MLB over the course of his ten-year career. The 31-year-old left-handed slugger has not missed a regular-season game for the Braves, appearing in all 162 matchups over the past three seasons. Olson also appeared in every possible regular-season game twice during his six-year stint with the Athletics, accomplishing the feat in both 2018 and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. His offensive production continues to be elite as his career progresses, despite the workload—making him one of the league’s most valuable players to roster. He earned his third All-Star appearance at Truist Park this year. Matt Olson Injury News Heading into Wednesday’s series finale against the Chicago White Sox, Olson has logged 746 consecutive games dating back to May 2021, the 12th-longest streak in MLB history. Before the game, manager Brian Snitker announced that Olson had been dealing with a sore toe sustained while running the bases on Tuesday, but believed Olson could play through it. The first baseman was reportedly adamant about remaining in the starting lineup. “#Braves' Matt Olson is dealing w/ a sore toe, which Snitker said happened while running out a double Tuesday. He's in the lineup tonight, his 747th consecutive game. ‘I tried to get him to take (day off), but he wouldn't,’ Snitker said. ‘Something that he can play through, I think,’” wrote The Athletic’s David O’Brien. Olson’s Durability Continues to Anchor Braves Amid Disappointing Season The Braves have had a disappointing season after entering the year with World Series aspirations, and without Olson’s durability, the team may have fared even worse. Olson has smashed 19 home runs and driven in 72 runs while batting .267 with a .366 on-base percentage and .819 OPS across 125 games for Atlanta. He’s locked into the Braves’ long-term future after signing an eight-year, $168 million contract in 2022, and although he’s made it clear the streak is important to him, the toe injury and its severity will be worth monitoring. Atlanta may have to make a tough decision if it worsens.
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