Terence Steele #78 of the Dallas Cowboys
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Terence Steele #78 of the Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are set to kick off the NFL free agency period this week, and started off Monday morning by restructuring the contract of offensive lineman Terence Steele–who had been floated as a possible cut candidate–to create some extra room for the team to go shopping for free-agent help.
The move was reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who pointed out that Steele will be getting more guaranteed money in the deal. Steele has been with the Cowboys since 2020, and though he has had some ups and downs and has slid to other spots on the line, he basically has been the starter at right tackle for the last six seasons.
As Rapoport wrote on Twitter/X: “The#Cowboys & OT Terence Steele restructured his deal and his new one includes $22M in fully guaranteed money, a base value of $33 — $36M max, per me and@TomPelissero. The deal, negotiated by@ErikBurkhardt of @RocNationSports, creates about $13M in additional cap space.”
Cowboys May Shift Offensive Line
The Cowboys are expected to return much the same offensive line in 2026, though there is a chance that there will be some change taking place on the left side, where Tyler Smith has been a standout left guard and Tyler Guyton has struggled at left tackle.
That’s left open the possibility of Smith moving over to tackle with backup TJ Bass moving into the starting group as the left guard. The Cowboys closed the season with Smith at tackle and coach Brian Schottenheimer has left open the possibility that the Cowboys will come back with that alignment next season.
Schottenheimer said earlier in the offseason that the team is leaning toward keeping Smith at guard. But it’s not definite.
“But he just wanted some direction and I said right now you’re a guard,” Schottenheimer said. “At the end of the day, we’re going to do what’s best for the Dallas Cowboys (in) winning a Super Bowl and that’s just like we did the last three games. If we got to move you to tackle we will and what I love about Tyler we were able to have that conversation and he said it makes perfect sense and I understand.”
The team did put a second-round tender on Bass over the weekend, all but assuring he stays put in Dallas.
Terence Steele Move Creates Spending Money
That won’t necessarily affect Steele, who can be penciled in at right tackle for 2026. According to Over The Cap, he will be taking a pay cut.
From the site’s X account: “Steele was set to earn $48.5M over the next three years from the Cowboys, so it sounds like he took a pay cut to $33M and in return gets $22M guaranteed. He had no real guarantees on this year’s salary prior to this.”
And in making the move on his contract, the Cowboys will now be able to spend some money in the coming days to rebuild the team’s league-worst defense.
Whether they’ll actually do that is to be determined. But owner Jerry Jones vowed last month that he would, even though moves like the one on Steele’s contract “borrow from the future.”
“I can see me being aggressive, I can see us being aggressive in free agency,” Jones said. “I am excited about doing everything we can now to have a better record than we had last year, a better team than we had last year. That’s why we have been doing what we’ve been doing with the coaching staff.
“I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have. The only way for me to push more is for me to go borrow some of my future. Expect me to go borrow some of my future. That’s one representation that you’re thinking of now as opposed to the future.”