The Dallas Cowboys are used to taking hits, on the gridiron and off it, too. Thanks to Jerry Jones. But what’s the new curveball Jerry threw their way? The team was never ready for that. Imagine you’re out there trying to build a roster for a spectacular comeback, and a major key player announces his retirement. Ouch… that’s pretty terrible.

But that’s exactly the situation the Cowboys are facing right now. The team is trying to get it together, focusing on free agency at the moment. Well, along with that, they’ll also have to plan a farewell for their offensive star. 

You must have figured out by now who the man in question is. Yes, he is Cowboys football guard Zack Martin. On February 20, after gracing the gridiron for 10 years, Zack announced his retirement from football, and that got the entire Cowboys Nation emotional. Well, it’s not just the Cowboys and Martin’s fans who are sad hearing about his retirement -there’s someone else too. Someone who has played against Zack. And that someone is former Eagles LB Emmanuel Acho. “I’m not going to lie. I’m sad,” Emmanuel said in an X post he shared.

“ I played against Zach Martin. And how in the world did the Cowboys win nothing between Zach Martin, Tyron Smith, and Travis Frederick in that brilliant offensive line that they had together? What? Makes no sense,” added Acho. The Notre Dame alum made his NFL debut in 2014 -the same year Nolan delivered a masterpiece to the world, Interstellar. Zack continued to play for Dallas for the rest of his career, and now, almost a decade later, he’s hanging up his cleats. 

The 34-year-old’s departure won’t just leave a gap in the O-line that the Cowboys need to figure out. It also delivers a massive blow to the salary cap. And amid all this mess, the team is preparing to sit down with Osa Odighizuwa for extension talks.

Jerry Jones and Cowboys plan to retain Osa Odighizuwa?

The front offices and finance teams of all franchises are overworked these days -there’s just too much to handle. That’s the offseason carousel for you: firing and hiring, retaining and releasing. The Cowboys, too, have quite a situation on their hands. They need to negotiate a restructuring deal with QB Dak Prescott because the club’s salary cap is in serious trouble. Then, they have LB Micah Parsons’s extension talks to deal with.

The team’s CEO and Jerry Jones’s eldest son, Stephen Jones, appeared in an exclusive interview with HC Brian Schottenheimer. The duo discussed the team’s offseason strategies and a few players’ contract situations. So, in that interview, Jones stated, “We have had negotiations with Osa,” adding, “I just think Osa is a really good football player. He’s an important piece.” The team’s defensive tackle was set to hit free agency next month. Osa has been a key part of the Cowboys’ defense, recording a career-high 4.5 sacks this season. The team knows that if he enters free agency, several teams will be ready to throw big money at him.

On the other hand, there has been no official word on Micah Parsons. It’s the LB’s final year under contract with Dallas, and he’s been looking for extension talks as well. But for now, Jerry Jones has remained silent on the Parsons matter. But Stephen has assured that they will sit down with the LB for extension talks. And when would that be? That’s still uncertain.