At this point in the team’s thoroughly disappointing 3-8 season, Cowboys fans are basically just waiting for the rest of the shoes to drop. A big one may have just landed with a resounding thud on Monday.
The team has placed guard Zack Martin on the Reserve/Injured list after a calf injury caused him to exit the Thanksgiving Day game versus Washington in the first quarter. He and tackle Cam Erving had already been declared out of the Week 13 contest.
Per league rules, Martin must now sit out three games. That would technically allow the four-time All-Pro to return for Week 16’s matchup with Philadelphia. If Dallas has been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention by then, though, one has to wonder if the coaching staff would even bother to let him back on the field for the club’s final two games of 2020.
Safety Steven Parker has also been placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury.
Tuesday’s date with Baltimore will mark just the fourth missed start of Martin’s stellar seven-year career. Because of other injuries along the Cowboys’ offensive line, the former first-round draft pick started the past two games at right tackle after six seasons of being considered one of the NFL’s top guards. That position shift, a dreadful season from the team, and now missed games will no doubt put Martin’s remarkable string of Pro Bowl nods in jeopardy.
Brandon Knight, Connor Williams, Joe Looney, Connor McGovern, and Terence Steele will likely comprise the Cowboys front line when they host the Ravens. It will be the eighth different personnel combination along the offensive line this season.
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