Dallas Cowboys: Growing concern for Zack Martin’s injured back?

Dallas Cowboys fans are aglow with optimism these days but one concern being overlooked might be regarding the health of our All-Pro offensive lineman.

Caught in the midst of overwhelming victory, was the premature departure of All-Pro offensive lineman, Zack Martin. Martin injured his back over a month ago in training camp. An MRI revealed he had an irritated disk, serious to be sure, but surgery was not immediately required.

While this news was obviously good to many of us who feared the worst, it prevented Zack Martin from participating in any more preseason activities. Much like Amari Cooper and Tyron Smith who were also held out most of camp, Martin reappeared on the practice field during game week.

Dallas Cowboys fans were further relieved to hear Zack Martin didn’t even make the Cowboys injury report in Week 1 .

It would seem all was well and Martin’s back issues were finally in his rearview mirror. But after two uncharacteristic penalties (the broadcasting team pointed out Martin only had three career penalties entering the game), it became clear all was not well with Martin. Concerns grew more when Zack Martin left the game in the second half, replaced by Xavier Su’a-Filo.

But much like his exclusion from the injury report before the game, Jason Garrett calmed the panicking masses by declaring his removal from the game “precautionary”.

Maybe Jason Garrett is telling the truth and this is a whole lotta nothin’. Or maybe Garrett has been taking a page from the Bill Belichick’s, Guide to Selective Honesty and he’s trying to gloss over the fact one of his best players is hampered.

As many of us know, back issues, and specifically disk issues, have a way of lingering. As such, Zack Martin’s situation may not improve at any point this season. Garrett was probably was just being cautious with Martin on Sunday. The game was well within hand midway through the third, so why not keep unnecessary mileage off the guy?