DALLAS — As the Dallas Cowboys were preparing for the season opener against the New York Giants, with Week 1 set for Sept. 10, the team also took care of another piece of business. This time it was a new deal for right tackle Terence Steele, who landed a five-year, $86.8 million contract extension that includes $50 million guaranteed.
Count it as a capper for a wild offseason for the Cowboys, who made two trades for starters with the spring acquisitions of wide receiver Brandin Cooks and cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Then the team began their annual tradition of retaining their own talent in-house by keeping linebacker Leighton Vander Esch and safety Donovan Wilson in tow to keep them out of free agency.
As training camp began, the Cowboys had more work to do on new deals for some of their important impending free agents. The summer meant temperatures were rising when Jerry and Stephen Jones turned up the heat by re-signing star cornerback Trevon Diggs, extending safety Malik Hooker, and bumping up right guard Zack Martin’s salary with a two-year extension.
Steele was the next guy on Dallas’ ledger for a payday.
It’s been a long time since the Cowboys have written this many checks in one offseason, and there are even more high priority players who could use new contracts – cough, cough quarterback Dak Prescott and wideout CeeDee Lamb – but that’s for another time. The doling out of deals feels like a team that knows that they have the pieces to compete for a championship and one that is attempting to maximize their time window of prime years together.
Steele was among the group of players that Dallas wanted to keep before their contracts expired after the 2023 season. He is also the least decorated player of the group.
Diggs was a second-round pick who has already garnered an All-Pro season and two Pro Bowls; he also leads the NFL in interceptions over the last three years. Vander Esch and Hooker are former first-round picks, with Vander Esch an All-Pro as a rookie. Hooker hasn’t been the star many expected from the 17th overall pick in 2017, but he has become a very solid player with the Cowboys.
Meanwhile, Wilson has outperformed his sixth-rounder status by getting better each year. Last season, Wilson led the defense in tackles and led all NFL safeties with five sacks.
Martin has been one of the best players in the game, regardless of position, since entering the league. The veteran RG earned his bump in pay with his eight All-Pro nods and the Cowboys wisely decided to make the future Hall of Famer happy.
And that brings us to Steele. The now well-paid right tackle began his tenure in Dallas as an undrafted free agent who was thrust into action as a rookie. He wasn’t ready and struggled early on, but the Texas Tech product’s work ethic helped him improve each year. Last season was his best as the team felt comfortable in letting La’el Collins go and turning the RT spot over to Steele. Until he was injured in December, Steele graded out as one of the best run blocking offensive linemen in the league and continued his ascension into becoming one of the better RTs in the game.
When Steele tore his ACL, the running game and offense never looked the same again. It was a sign that Steele had become one of the key pieces for the Cowboys’ offense and the team needed to extend him before another stellar year saw the cost rise exorbitantly to put him at risk of walking during the 2024 free agency period.
After seeing how Steele attacked rehab to the point that he was ready for training camp in July, it was another sign that the 26-year-old was a keeper. The Cowboys were impressed with the work Steele put in to return and rewarded him with a new deal.
Since arriving in 2020, Steele has been one of Dallas’ hardest workers, improving each year and making himself into one of the league’s top bookend tackles. It’s a deal that Steele has earned rather than one given by status or untapped potential.
All told, it has been a busy offseason for the Cowboys, who have backed up their philosophy of signing their own players. Dallas came into the offseason having several deals that they needed to get done, and they have checked off their list one by one to keep the secondary intact, bolster the linebacker corps, and ensure the right side of the offensive line remains an asset as one of the best in the league.
The work isn’t done yet. It never is. Prescott needs an extension again, Lamb is in line for big money come next offseason, and center Tyler Biadasz’s contract will be up after 2023. And that’s all before superstar Micah Parsons is eligible for an extension in two years in what is sure to be a landmark contract.
Those are problems for another day. As it stands now, the Dallas Cowboys have had a productive summer to ensure themselves a chance at a successful season and beyond. With the draft-and-extend pipeline working as intended, there’s still hope in Dallas.
Which player do you think will be next to land a new deal with the Cowboys? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
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