Zack Martin Injury: Updates on Cowboys Star's Stinger and Return

Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Zack Martin suffered an upper-body injury in the team's joint practice with the St. Louis Rams on Tuesday. He's expected to be out no more than a week with the injury, according to Sam Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

Continue for updates.

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Martin Comments on Stinger

Thursday, Aug. 20

“I feel good,” Martin said, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “Just a little scare, but everything’s fine. I’m just going to do exactly what [athletic trainer Britt Brown] says.”

“I could have kept my head up for sure,” Martin continued. “It’s definitely a learning experience there. Just get better and get out there.”

The second-year offensive tackle appeared to suffer a neck injury Tuesday evening. NBC Dallas Fort Worth's Pat Doney caught the moments after he went down:

Leaving the field under his own power, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones addressed the prognosis on Martin, per Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

According to Moore, Martin "should be OK."

It was just one of the happenings in an eventful day from the Cowboys and Rams' joint practice. Shortly after his injury, a brawl between the teams broke out.

Martin developed into one of the gems within the Cowboys offensive line, starting all 16 games last year while being selected to the Pro Bowl. He helped anchor a group that allowed just 30 sacks and made the way for 2,354 rushing yards, second best in the league. 

Mackenzy Bernadeau would be the man to step in for Martin if he does in fact miss time. A member of the Cowboys for four years, the 29-year-old has started 28 games. 

Dallas will need to have that stellar offensive line healthy, as it is not blocking for an All-Pro runner such as DeMarco Murray anymore. With his departure to the Eagles, the Cowboys running game will feature Darren McFadden, Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar, who combined for 684 yards last year. Murray alone recorded 1,845. 

With the opposition expecting to see more of the passing game from Dallas, it will be a top priority to protect Tony Romo, and losing Martin would not make that task any easier. 

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.