Blogging The Boys
This is going to be an interesting offseason for the Cowboys with how they handle their tackle situation.
2024 wasn’t a good season for plenty of position groups in Dallas, but offensive tackle may have had some of the greatest struggles. Growing pains for some, physical pain for others, and a general lack of cohesion led to inconsistent play, lots of penalties, and plenty of questions about what the Cowboys should do with their tackles going forward.
Nathan Thomas, Earl Bostick Jr.
Terence Steele fits the profile of a potential salary cap casualty. He’s not performing up to his contract, counting $18.6 million in 2025. But as we broke down recently, Dallas’ overall landscape at OT adds some challenges to cutting Steele. You’d get some cap room, but you’d lose a starter without any clear way of replacing him. Dallas would likely have to spend more than the potential cap relief to sign an adequate replacement, let alone an upgrade.
Additionally, Guyton presents uncertainty in the other starting spot. Many left tackles struggle in their rookie seasons, and Guyton was considered a raw prospect when he was drafted. Dallas took some assumed lumps by putting him out there with the hope that it would speed his development for the future. The hope is that Guyton’s first full offseason and that valuable experience will produce a much-improved player in 2025, but it’s going to be a while until we see the results.
One potentially helpful factor for both of them, and all of the offensive line, are the changes to Dallas’ coaching staff. We’ll see how new OL coach Conor Riley does working with pros, but one thing we can expect is a renewed focus on the run game in Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams’ offense. That’d be great news for Steele, who’s always been much stronger blocking for runs than passes, and should reduce the pressure on Guyton as well.
Even if Dallas keeps riding with Guyton and Steele in 2025, they’ll still want to give attention to the backups. Chuma Edoga will be a free agent and would likely be an easy re-sign, but his value as a swing tackle is pretty limited. Guard Asim Richards should be able to offer what Edoga has as a versatile backup. And while there’s always the option to play Tyler Smith at left tackle in a pinch, the Cowboys could consider adding someone who provides depth now and potentially replaces Steele in 2026.
Sure, the Cowboys could open up their wallets for a new starter like Morgan Moses or Ronnie Stanley. Moses would be an instant upgrade at right tackle over Steele, and Stanley could take over on the left side and let you move Guyton right. But these guys should be looking for at least $25 million per year based on the current market, which would be a huge leap...
