Terence Steele has been the Dallas Cowboys' right tackle since 2020, and he was thrown to the wolves following an injury-riddled COVID season. Since then, he's deserved to be a starting offensive tackle, but now the Cowboys are clearly concerned about Steele going forward.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer informed Steele that he will compete with the Steelers' OT Broderick Jones for the starting RT position. That's a bold move if you're Schottenheimer, but he's never been the one to sugarcoat anything.
Steele is the most senior of the OL group, but it feels like his peers have surpassed him as more reliable pieces on the O-Line. Even Tyler Guyton, who had his own concerns as Dak Prescott's blindside protector, has answered with ease this offseason.
Terence Steele's time with Dallas is on the line thanks to competition with Broderick Jones
Steele has been one of the biggest question marks for a while, and now, Schotty has an excuse to test out some new competition at RT.
PFF graded Steele 63.6 overall last season, which is just below average, but his pass-block grade is what everybody should be looking at. That was graded at 54.9, ranked 76th out of 89. Dak Prescott is about to be in his mid-30s, and pass blocking is everything in the second half of his career. He can probably play for many years, but he's got to get the right blockers on his side.
Over the weekend, the Cowboys traded for Jones, a first-round pick out of Georgia from 2023. The former Bulldog has had an up-and-down career, but he's 25-years-old and has a lot of career ahead of him. He's a two-time national champion and a First Team All-SEC player. For Jones, he still has a lot to prove, as his pass-blocking grade was a 59 last season, which was second-to-last in the league.
If Jones can beat Steele in the RT competition, the offensive line could give Prescott a reason to play until his 40s. All of the Cowboys' offensive line starters would be between 22 and 25 years old. Tyler Booker, who looks like the next big star in the game, is 22 years old and has everything ahead of him.
The others like Cooper Beebe, Tyler Smith and Guyton have their spots in place, and adding Jones to the mix could be a star OL group for years to come. The Cowboys have always had some of the best OL rooms in history, and Jones giving Steele a run for his money and starting could give the Cowboys some gold.
It's going to be a battle from Day 1, and Schotty is no doubt sending Steele a message with a young 25-year-old breathing down his neck.
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