Dallas Cowboys: 3 Big takeaways from Preseason Week 2

2. Offensive line injures becoming worrisome

One of the worst parts about preseason games are injuries in games that don’t count in the standings and that occurred Saturday night for the Dallas Cowboys in losing All-Pro guard Zack Martin during the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Kurt Daniels of DallasCowboys.com best describes how good of a player Martin is for the Cowboys, and just how good Martin is when compared to the rest of the guards in the NFL:

"“Midway through the second quarter, on Dallas’ third possession of the night, right guard Zack Martin left the game with a knee injury. The All-Pro is not only considered perhaps the best player on the team, but is also widely known as the top player at his position in the NFL.”"

I get the fact Martin — who has not missed a game in his four seasons (64 games) — needs to play in the preseason to get prepared for the NFL season, but it still is a bad sign when possibly the best guard in the entire league is injured as there is no way to exactly replace a player of Martin’s abilities.

Add Martin’s injury to the injured offensive line list with center Travis Frederick having some slight issues with is neck, as he didn’t play against Cincinnati on Saturday. With it only being August and seeing two of the top players on the offensive line — both previous All-Pros  — being injured, that is not a good sign for a team that will rely on their running game to be successful and set the tone each and every week.

Last season the Cowboys had issues in replacing Tyron Smith when he missed action with injury at left tackle, and given the fact the top backup for Martin in Marcus Martin, that leaves the Cowboys at a potential disadvantage in their depth, unless they fix that through free agency in same way as the season nears.