Former Cowboys QB Tony Romo attended Zack Martin’s retirement announcement and said afterward, “I think Zack Martin and Larry Allen are two of the best guards in NFL history.”

FRISCO, Texas – From the day that Zack Martin took the field at training camp for the first time, former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo knew that he was a little bit different from everyone else.

“Zack’s probably the only player in my time playing that I saw come in as a rookie, and day one, was the best player that I’d played with at that position.” Romo said.

Romo was just one of many current and former Cowboys that were in attendance for Martin’s retirement press conference on Wednesday.

Although they only spent three seasons together in Dallas, Romo has no doubt that Martin’s name lies amongst the greatest in NFL history.

“He’s about as special of a player as you can find, I think Zack Martin and Larry Allen are the two best guards in the history of the NFL.”

“What makes him rare is he doesn’t have a weakness, and almost every player has some weakness somewhere, and he really didn’t…” Romo said. “Zack was as good as anyone who has ever played the game.”

In the three years that they did spend together, Martin was an All-Pro left guard in two of those seasons and was named to the Pro Bowl in all three.

He would go on to finish his career as a 11-time Pro Bowler and seven-time 1st Team All-Pro, setting himself up to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer come 2030.

There isn’t one specific attribute of Martin’s game that stood out to Romo, it was how well he was able to do everything required from an offensive lineman at an elite level.

“They just don’t make them with the footwork, the base, the punch, his strength, his athleticism, and then his mind,” Romo said. “He’s just a rare, rare football player.”

When asked about his future now that he’s retired from football, Martin said he isn’t sure just yet what’s next for him, but that he’ll probably be involved in football at some point down the line.

Whether it’s as a coach somewhere or following in Romo’s footsteps as a television analyst, Romo is confident that Martin can do whatever he puts his mind to, just like he did on a football field.

“Zack can do anything he wants,” Romo said. He’s got a knack, an instinct for how to verbalize the game, I think he’d be a great coach, I think he’d be a great front office guy, I think he’d be great on TV.”

“I think that he’s going to be able to do whatever he wants, he’s that kind of guy.”