Getty Zack Martin
There is a better-than-good chance that Zack Martin has taken his final snap of the 2020 NFL season.
The Dallas Cowboys announced Monday the perennial Pro Bowl offensive lineman was sent to injured reserve, requiring him to miss at least three of the team’s final four games.
Martin suffered a calf injury in Dallas’ Thanksgiving Day loss to Washington. After the game, head coach Mike McCarthy said Martin and starting right tackle Cam Erving (MCL sprain) “are going to be out multiple weeks.”
Their absence further weakens an already ravaged offensive line missing All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith and incumbent RT1 La’el Collins, both of whom are on IR.
No matter if he’s stationed at OT (in place of shaky rookie Terence Steele) or his natural right guard spot, Martin was in the midst of another all-star campaign, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2-rated OG entering Week 12. He was key in keeping quarterback Andy Dalton upright amid the Cowboys’ upset of the Minnesota Vikings.
Sans Martin and Erving on the field, no such luck for Dalton, who was sacked three times and hit seven times in the 41-16 trouncing to the Football Team. The downturn was evident once Steele and fill-in LT Brandon Knight entered the game. And here’s proof: 44 scoreless rushing yards — combined — for running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.
The Cowboys are projected to start a front-five consisting of Knight, Connor Williams, Joe Looney, Connor McGovern, and Steele for Tuesday’s nationally-televised road contest at Baltimore.
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Other Roster Moves
In corresponding transactions, the Cowboys also moved safety Steven Parker to IR and elevated cornerbacks Deante Burton and Rashard Robinson from the practice squad to the active roster for Week 13.
This, because the team downgraded CB Anthony Brown and S Donovan Wilson from questionable to out. Brown is battling a rib injury while Wilson tweaked his groin against Washington.
These are significant losses as both players receive heavy snaps and Wilson, in particular, has played well in recent games. Alas, Dallas is forced to trudge forward with Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis as the primary corners (Trevon Diggs remains on IR) and Xavier Woods and Darian Thompson as the starting safeties.
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Insider Dishes on ‘Possibility’ of McCarthy Firing
The Cowboys conducting a second head-coaching search in as many years is not an impossibility, according to Bleacher Report. In his latest Scouting Notebook, plugged-in draft analyst Matt Miller opined that although owner Jerry Jones “doesn’t seem poised” to fire HC Mike McCarthy after the 2020 season, “we can’t entirely rule out the possibility,” either.
“The Cowboys sitting at 3-8 has to be one of the biggest surprises of the season, and if Jones gets upset down the stretch, we could see movement here,” Miller wrote.
However, Miller ultimately feels McCarthy will receive a mulligan for what’s been an injury-ruined campaign and that Dallas could achieve a “quick turnaround” due to its “strong” roster, the likely return of franchise QB Dak Prescott, and a premium building block in the form of a potential top-five 2021 draft pick.
This all aligns with Jones’ continued defense of the former Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl-winning coach. In perhaps his most emphatic comments, the Cowboys czar emphatically declared in October that “I’ve got my man.”
READ NEXT: Jerry Jones Responds to Dak Prescott’s ‘Small Victories’ Message
Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL