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Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Terence Steele.
There are so many possible outcomes for what might happen with the future of Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Terence Steele, it might as well be one of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books from the 1980s — you know the ones, right?
The point is, what the Cowboys do with Steele at this point is anybody’s guess and the smart money right now seems to be on him playing at least one more season with the Cowboys, where he’s been since making the team as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
Dan Rogers of Blogging the Boys thinks the best path for the Cowboys and Steele is taking the “Wait and See” approach … and avoiding a dead cap hit of $9.375 million in 2026.
Steele signed a 5-year, $86.8 million contract extension in September 2023 that will pay him $14 million in 2026.
Steele has started 51 consecutive regular-season games for the Cowboys — every game the last 3 seasons.
“Last year was a decent season for Steele, who is always at the forefront of any discussion regarding roster cuts,” Rogers wrote. “He remains a powerful run blocker, but his consistency in pass protection has been shaky at times. With the development of young tackles like Nate Thomas and Ajani Cornelius, there is a range of outcomes that could see the Cowboys moving on from Steele … 2025 is the year the team could responsibly get out of his contract, and that time is finally here. But can the team function without him? Moving on from Steele prematurely could create a massive hole on the right side of the line.”
From UDFA to Massive Payday With Cowboys
Steele, 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, starred for Texas Tech in the late 2010s alongside future 2-time NFL MVP quarterback and 3-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. Steele went undrafted in 2020 after a rash of false start and holding calls — and letting Mahomes get sacked too much — over his final 2 college seasons.
In a great example of making sure you’re always ready when the opportunity calls, injuries to starter La’el Collins and backup Cameron Irving forced Steele into a starting role for the Cowboys as a rookie in 2020. He wound up starting 14 games — the most by any rookie undrafted free agent offensive tackle in NFL history.
It was a position Steele would never lose his grip on. He’s been a full-time starter for the Cowboys for the last 6 seasons and has only missed 4 career games — and none since 2022.
Cowboys Have One of NFL’s Best Offensive Lines
The Cowboys haven’t made the playoffs since 2023, but in 2025 that was because they had arguably the NFL’s worst defense and arguably its best offense and feature one of its best offensive lines.
Steele is also an anomaly amongst his brothers in the trenches. The Cowboys feature three 1st round picks as starters on the offensive line with Tyler Booker, Tyler Smith and Tyler Guyton — and starting center Cooper Beebe was a third round pick (No. 73 overall) in the 2024 NFL draft.
While Steele isn’t the only one who struggles up front, for some reason he ends up the target of fan frustration more often than not.
“Steele is often a lightning rod for fan frustration, but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the offensive line,” Rogers wrote.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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