Cowboys Make Move on OL’s Much-Maligned $82.5 Million Contract

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Cowboys OT Terence Steele

It is one of the great ironies of how the Cowboys handle their contract situations. For star players who clearly deserve, and inevitably get, top-of-the-market payouts, Dallas tends to play coy, let negotiations drag on, and only resolve the issue when some kind of deadline looms—much as the team handled negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott or wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.

But for middling or injured players, guys the Cowboys could probably wait out a bit before inking to a major deal? Well, the Cowboys get ahead of the curve there, sometimes to their detriment. That was the case last year with lineman Terence Steele, who was granted a contract extension worth $82.5 million (per Spotrac) in September of 2023 despite still coming back from a torn ACL, and struggling as he did.

Steele had a rough go of things as he came back from the injury, rating a grade of 50.8 as a blocker at Pro Football Focus, which ranked him 256^th out of 329 graded linemen on the season. Steele had the fourth-worst grade of any lineman with at least 1,000 snaps played in 2023.

This week, despite all that, the Cowboys made a move on Steele’s bloated, albatross contract, converting $4.5 million in 2024 salary to a signing bonus and creating a bit more cap space in the process.

Cowboys Likely to Roll Cap Room Into 2025

That report came via ESPN’s Todd Archer, who wrote on Twitter/X: “The Cowboys have reworked the contract of right tackle Terence Steele, opening up $4.5 million in salary cap space. Add that to cap space saved on Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb contracts this year to the money that will most likely be carried over to 2025 ($20m+).”

In other words, if you’re hopeful that the Cowboys made the move on Steele as a way to bring in the likes of disgruntled Jets pass rusher Haason Reddick or possibly disgruntled receiver Davante Adams, don’t hold your breath. The Cowboys still have a contract to work out with star linebacker Micah Parsons.

And there’s no move expected on Steele, either, who was the starter at right tackle and played all 63 offensive snaps there in Week 1.

In fairness to the Cowboys, Steele could yet prove worthy of his outsized contract, if he can fully put the knee injury behind him. Just three weeks ago, Steele was being hailed for his performance in training camp.

“I think he’s had his best camp as a Dallas Cowboy,” coach Mike McCarthy said in August. “You can just see the things he continues to work on.”

Terence Steele Playing Better Thus Far

Even if Steele does not live up to his contract this year, the fact remains that only $50 million of the deal is guaranteed and the Cowboys can writhe free of paying him after next season. Certainly, five years and $82.5 million sounds a lot heftier than three years and $50 million, which is essentially what Steele’s contract is if he underperforms.

Steele did not get called for a penalty in Week 1, though he did allow a sack. He earned a PFF grade of 67.9, second-best on the Cowboys front.

Though he was frequently derided for his performance last season, especially when he allowed four sacks in a Week 5 loss to the Eagles, Steele was proud of his overall body of work.

“I was six months removed from surgery,” Steele said, via the Cowboys website. “I had some ups and downs but who doesn’t coming back from injury as fast as I did. People my size usually don’t come back that fast. I’m proud of myself for what I did.

“I didn’t miss a snap, and didn’t miss a practice.”