The Dallas Cowboys have not exactly been secretive about their concerns at tackle. It was, to start the offseason, Tyler Guyton on the left side who initially was the team’s concern, but he sealed up the job and showed improvement over the summer, allaying some of the team’s fears. On the right side, though, with Terence Steele, it has been a different story.
Steele, by most accounts, had a poor summer. The Cowboys were concerned enough about it to make a trade for former Steelers first-round pick Broderick Jones after training camp ended. The Cowboys did not sugar-coat it, either–coach Brian Schottenheimer made clear that the team brought in Jones because of concerns over Steele, who took a pay cut to stay with the Cowboys this offseason.
Said Schottenheimer: “I was not surprised when I called him and informed him of what we were doing (the Jones trade) that he didn’t hesitate. He understands the business.”
Giants Will Seek to ‘Exploit’ Terence Steele
If it is no secret around The Star that Steele has struggled, then it certainly is no secret in other teams’ scouting departments and game plans. That was on display this week when Brian Burns, star pass rusher for the Cowboys’ Week 1 opponent, the Giants, pointed out that the defensive front is going to seek out Steele this week.
“I mean, opportunity lies within the game,” Burns said, via the New York Daily News. “They’re both pros. Not to disrespect anybody’s craft or anything like that, but the fact that they are so concerned in that area does, I guess, raise some form of an alert in our minds, as far as like just knowing that they’re having struggles.”
“So we can definitely see that as an opportunity to exploit,” he said.
Cowboys Have Been Dealing With RT Issue
Of course, it did not start this way for Steele, who was given an $87 million contract based on his potential before his pay cut this year. Steele was a promising young tackle in 2022 when he tore his ACL late in his third NFL season. He came back the next season, and the Cowboys bet that he would regain his form, giving him that massive deal.
But he has not been the same player since the ACL tear. Consider the pressures and sacks (per PFF) Steele allowed in his first three seasons: 2020, 48 pressures, nine sacks; 2021, 31 pressures, two sacks; and 2022, 20 pressures, 1 sack.
And the same numbers after returning from the ACL tear: 2023, 56 pressures, eight sacks; 2024, 41 pressures, nine sacks; 2025, 52 pressures, six sacks. He has become unreliable, and the improvement the Cowboys hoped for this summer never materialized.
That’s why the Jones trade came to be. But Jones is recovering from a neck injury and is not nearly ready to play. For the Cowboys, that means fingers crossed on Terence Steele in Week 1.
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