SEPTEMBER 4: Steele will collect a signing bonus of $15MM, per Schefter’s colleague Todd Archer. The new pact is guaranteed in full for the first two years, and his 2025 base salary ($13.25MM) will become guaranteed on the fifth day of that league year. The deal will not alter Steele’s cap hit for this season, so that figure will remain at $4.3MM before jumping in later years given the sizable raise from his previous earnings. $1.25MM in escalators are included for the years 2025-28, and he can earn roster bonuses of $750K annually beginning in 2024.
SEPTEMBER 3: The Cowboys and right tackle Terence Steele have agreed to a five-year, $86.8MM extension, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The deal includes $50MM in guarantees and can max out at $91.8MM.
This represents a major vote of confidence in a player whose 2022 season was cut short by ACL and MCL tears. But as head coach Mike McCarthy recently told reporters, including Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, he has never seen a player recover quite like Steele.
“He hasn’t missed a day, and it’s just Terence,” McCarthy said. “He’s in there the same time every day, doing the rehab. It feels like he never left. Terence is a stud.”
Steele, 26, signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Over his three seasons with the club, he has appeared in 45 games (40 starts), with most of his work coming at right tackle. His level of play at that spot allowed Dallas to move on from La’el Collins and commit to Steele on a full-time basis in 2022. Steele took a step forward in Pro Football Focus rating for the third straight year, generating an overall grade of 73.9.
Despite the ACL and MCL injuries, the Cowboys placed the second-round RFA tender, worth $4.3MM, on Steele this offseason. Reports on Dallas’ O-line plans in the spring suggested that the Texas Tech alum could operate as the swing tackle behind Tyron Smith and Tyler Smith, with Tyron Smith lining up at RT and Tyler Smith on the blindside. However, the club has consistently maintained that it wants to field its best five offensive lineman, and that group includes Steele. As such, Tyler Smith eventually kicked inside to left guard, Tyron Smith has assumed his familiar LT post, and Steele has been reinserted at right tackle.
Along with Tyler Biadasz at center and Zack Martin at right guard, the Cowboys boast a strong contingent of blockers in front of quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Tony Pollard. With Tyron Smith set to become a free agent at season’s end, it is certainly possible that Tyler Smith could move back to left tackle in 2024, but the team has the RT position set for the foreseeable future.
Steele’s new money AAV of $17.36MM ranks as the eighth-highest figure among the league’s right tackles. His $50MM in guaranteed money, however, ranks as the fourth-highest number, so he did quite well for a former UDFA who has yet to make a Pro Bowl and who is coming off a major knee injury.
The Cowboys were eyeing extensions for players like CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, and Steele this year, and they have now struck accords with Diggs and Steele. They also gave Martin a raise that ended his holdout and will now presumably turn their attention to Lamb and Prescott, whose cap number balloons to over $59MM next year.
Steele was a liability on the line when he first came into the league and has since made himself an invaluable cog on the right side of the line. Great story of a guy who put in the work and made something of himself. Nice to see him rewarded.
A few years ago I wouldn’t have called this, and I’m sure that most others wouldn’t have, either. I and many others thought that he was done for sure after that fateful day in Atlanta (granted, he was young and playing suddenly, but his performance was astonishingly bad).
Most guys would have likely been cut. Nearly all of them would have had that as the last anyone had heard from them, except for the answer to football trivia questions (double points if you can name Clayborn’s first name off the bat). But the Cowboys not only gave Steele a vote of confidence, Steele really turned things around and earned this extension. These guys are professionals, but it seriously is quite rare for a player’s career prospects to do such a complete 180. It’s truly remarkable and impressive on Steele’s part to work his butt off, improve, and not lose heart in coming back. I’m not sure that just anybody could do that. Congratulations to him, and credit to the Cowboys for rightfully standing by him years ago.
You’re thinking of Chaz Green way back in 2017. He’s the one who’s allowed four sacks and 3 to Clayborn. Steele was rated as one of the worst offensive lineman in football his rookie year though when Dak broke his ankle during the 2020 season. Credit the Cowboys scouts for finding this underrated guy and developing him into the key player
Ouch, that was embarrassing. I was in fact doing that. My (major) mistake. Should have verified that first. My major apologies. Thank you for correcting me. That’s why you don’t post off the hip, kids…
That game still haunts my nightmares is the only reason I still remember Chaz Green’s name.
You’re thinking of Chaz Green way back in 2017. He’s the one who’s allowed four sacks and 3 to Clayborn. Steele was rated as one of the worst offensive lineman in football his rookie year though when Dak broke his ankle during the 2020 season. Credit the Cowboys scouts for finding this underdrafted guy and developing him into the key player
Someone help me. What’s 73.9 rating out of? 100? Or 80 like baseball?
The Cowboys are so dumb. Paying an average player, coming off injury, top dollar.
Same team whose owner traded a 4th rounder for arguably the biggest bust qb behind jamarcus russell without notifying the head coach or gm and paid an overweight underperforming rb for 3 years too long. Jerry jones doing jerry jones things
It must burn you Cowboys Haters so much that Dallas is actually a well run organization. Not saying Jerry is the best owner but Dallas on the shortlist top organizations in the NFL. Denying that just shows your bias
Dallas is very good at identifying talent in the draft. There is no denying that. That’s where their competency ends. Cap management and trades… No good. They continuously pay the wrong players at the wrong times… Zeke Elliott, Jaylon Smith, Michael Gallup, Terrance Steele… Even giving the Franchise tag to Pollard, coming off injury was an iffy move.
I’ll give you Zeke as a bad contract but the others were not bad at the time. Smith was a top linebacker unfortunately his knee injury caused his play to decline. Steele just signed an under market deal and not sure why you bring up Gallup? He would’ve made the same money from another team. Not like they’re missing on big free agent deals. They hit on Kearse, Hooker, Turpin, Gilmore and Cooks.
Well if you think Jaylon Smith’s deal (for a frickin Linebacker)was smart, you deserve whatever you been getting from your team the last 25 years.
Stephen runs most of the football operation these days. That’s not to say that Jerry does not have influence, but Stephen has been running football operations for some time.
Dak is the most overpaid average QB in the NFL and now you want to give him more money? He gets worse each year. they’ll never win a SB with him. look how he performed last year and his starting record. I’m hoping the Lance signing means they’ll move on from Dak. I don’t think Lance will be the answer either. Dallas needs a new starting QB.
Dak is paid the exact same AAV as Daniel Jones. You imbecile. Dak is actually underpaid
Hell of a name