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Maybe this is the year Terence Steele really looks like his old self.
When thinking about the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line in 2025 and beyond, the first thing that comes to mind is, well, Tyler cubed. Three first-round picks over the last four years produced Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton and, now, Tyler Booker but, following the retirement of Zack Martin, the onus of leadership doesn’t simply fall on Smith’s capable shoulders.
The true elder statesman on the offensive line isn’t Smith, it’s Terence Steele, the latter entering what will be his sixth year in the NFL and with the Cowboys. That means that it’s as much on Steele to lead the young bulls through the rodeo as it is on Smith, who’s walking into Year 4.
In an exclusive chat with Brian Schottenheimer, the head coach and offensive play caller was clear in both his praise of Steele and in what he expects to see from his starting right tackle in the post-Martin era.
“I think it’s a great example of these guys that come in all different personalities,” he said. “Terence is one of the hardest workers that we have. His work ethic, the way he trains, the way he approaches being a pro and his craft are amazing. He’s not the most vocal guy, and that’s not a bad thing.
“He’s more of a leader by example. But he’s also a voice of confidence, and a voice of experience for the young guys.”
It’s been an up-and-down affair for Steele since returning from a torn ACL and MCL suffered in December 2022, the majority of the 2023 season being mostly viewed as the transition back to the field, but the mental hurdle remained and it showed, along with some soreness in the offending knee creating an added challenge in Steele’s mission to return to top form.
A past Cowboys great has passed on. RIP Tom Rafferty.
Tom Rafferty, a stalwart in the Cowboys’ offensive line whose career bridged generations from Roger Staubach to Troy Aikman and who was so tough he taught himself to walk again in middle age after a neurological disorder left him with no feeling below the waist, died Thursday at 70 in Windsor, Colo., after a stroke.
Rafferty’s daughter, Rachel Powers, said her father had been hospitalized since early May.
Born and raised in New York and drafted in the fourth round out of Penn State in 1976, Rafferty inherited Blaine Nye’s spot at right guard in his second season. He started there or at center for two Super Bowls and 167 straight games in all, the longest streak in the...
