6 Cowboys Whose Stock Has Fallen Ahead of Training Camp

5. Terence Steele, Right Tackle

Undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2020, Terence Steele fought his way to the starting lineup quickly. Due to an injury suffered by starting left tackle Tyron Smith, Steele started 14 games as a rookie. Mike McCarthy showed a lot of faith in him and despite protest from the fan base, Steele was again a 13-game starter in year two.

This time, it led to La'el Collins moving to a reserve role (and often a fullback role) and he was released ahead of the 2022 campaign. Steele was then named the permanent starter at right tackle and made the team look brilliant. He showed great improvement in both pass protection and run blocking and was one of the top right tackles in the NFL.

His breakout campaign ended in an unfortunate way as Steele suffered a torn ACL and MCL. Despite coming off the severe injury, Dallas signed him to an extension and paid him $86.8 million over five years. They were just burnt by Michael Gallup, who was extended coming off an ACL tear in 2022 but still threw caution to the wind and paid someone coming off an injury — yet won't pay CeeDee Lamb or Dak Prescott.

Steele was able to play all 17 games but he wasn't good. According to PFF, he allowed 54 pressure and eight sacks on the season. His run blocking wasn't much better as he looked uncomfortable all year. Perhaps having a full year under his belt following the surgery will help him perform better in 2024 but his stock is lower than it's ever been right now.