Blogging The Boys
Dallas could save money by letting go these three names.
3. Terence Steele: High-Cost Gamble Needs To End After 2025 Season
Lastly, we have Terence Steele, the Cowboys’ starting right tackle since essentially the 2020 NFL season. In December 2022, he tore his ACL and MCL in a major knee injury; not even a year later, Dallas gave him a five-year, $86M extension.
It was a huge gamble that banked on Steele returning to form. They tied themselves to him until 2028 without seeing him on the field after the injury.
I give him credit for how he has rebounded, and he certainly has seen some decent highs since the new contract, but this year, above all else, has proven to me that they need to sever ties after the 2025 season.
Cutting Steele would save money, which Dallas desperately needs to do, and it would also open the door for a younger, higher-ceiling player to take over at right tackle. People tend to forget that Steele is already 28 years old, and he will be 29 before next season.
Poor timing for Dallas’ good luck to run out.
Nate wasn’t that great
The Cowboys’ offensive line has been great for most of the season, despite several players missing time. It seems like whoever fills in for them ends up doing an admirable job at holding down the fort. Lately, that sound reserve has been second-year tackle Nate Thomas, who has started at left tackle the last two games while Tyler Guyton recovers from an ankle injury.
On Thursday, Thomas wasn’t at his best as the Lions’ edge rushers came at him. The coaches tried to mitigate the issue by giving him help, as Javonte Williams or one of the tight ends would regularly chip the pass rushers, but Thomas still had problems. Defenders maneuvered around him with relative ease, and sometimes the young swing tackle was just lost. He completely forgot to block the edge rusher on a third-down play that resulted in a sack and killed a Cowboys’ drive early in the second quarter. He also got flagged for holding in the third quarter, when Aiden Hutchinson beat him to the inside. It was a constant battle for Thomas, and the more the Cowboys fell behind, the harder it got.
Dallas fans get an open Sunday to consider what went wrong Thursday.
Loser: LB Kenneth Murray
Kenneth Murray is a physically gifted linebacker whose talents cannot save him from being out of position on a large portion of his snaps. Teams who force him to think and react have a high...
