4 Biggest Cowboys Busts Halfway Through the Season
4. Giving Terence Steele an extension
The Dallas Cowboys' offensive line was once considered the best in the entire NFL. Those days are long gone.
The Cowboys came into this season with some question marks at the offensive tackle positions given Tyron Smith's injury history and Terence Steele being somewhat of a gamble. The Cowboys really liked what Terence Steele brought to the table, and they actually signed him to a five-year deal with a whopping $86.8 million in total money and $50 million in guarantees.
It's a top 10 contract for any right tackle in the NFL today and the thought process behind it is at least somewhat understandable. The Cowboys like to pay their own guys, but that has burned them in the past as well.
Did we mention the Michael Gallup thing? We mentioned that, right?
The Cowboys gave Terence Steele over $16 million per season on a new deal and that return on investment has, at times, been absolutely brutal this season. Especially recently.
#Cowboys RT Terence Steele allowed 12 pressures, 7 hurries, and 4 sacks in Week 9, according to @PFF.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) November 6, 2023
Pass-block grade of 15.0.
As of right now, I'm not sure you need to look much further for a true "bust" on this roster or on the Cowboys' salary cap. Of course, the deal doesn't kick in until next year as Steele was previously playing this season on a one-year deal, but he received more than $23 million fully guaranteed at signing, which means the Cowboys are on the hook for about $27 million in cash this year toward Terence Steele.
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