Terence Steele is ‘set up to have a great year’ for Cowboys in 2025, per Brian Schottenheimer - Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
Maybe this is the year Terence Steele really looks like his old self.
When thinking about the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line in 2025 and beyond, the first thing that comes to mind is, well, Tyler cubed. Three first-round picks over the last four years produced Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton and, now, Tyler Booker but, following the retirement of Zack Martin, the onus of leadership doesn’t simply fall on Smith’s capable shoulders.
The true elder statesman on the offensive line isn’t Smith, it’s Terence Steele, the latter entering what will be his sixth year in the NFL and with the Cowboys. That means that it’s as much on Steele to lead the young bulls through the rodeo as it is on Smith, who’s walking into Year 4.
In an exclusive chat with Brian Schottenheimer, the head coach and offensive play caller was clear in both his praise of Steele and in what he expects to see from his starting right tackle in the post-Martin era.
“I think it’s a great example of these guys that come in all different personalities,” he said. “Terence is one of the hardest workers that we have. His work ethic, the way he trains, the way he approaches being a pro and his craft are amazing. He’s not the most vocal guy, and that’s not a bad thing.
“He’s more of a leader by example. But he’s also a voice of confidence, and a voice of experience for the young guys.”
It’s been an up-and-down affair for Steele since returning from a torn ACL and MCL suffered in December 2022, the majority of the 2023 season being mostly viewed as the transition back to the field, but the mental hurdle remained and it showed, along with some soreness in the offending knee creating an added challenge in Steele’s mission to return to top form.
Tom Rafferty, a Dallas Cowboys stalwart known for ‘doing the right thing,’ dies at 70 - Kevin Sherrinton, DMN
A past Cowboys great has passed on. RIP Tom Rafferty.
Tom Rafferty, a stalwart in the Cowboys’ offensive line whose career bridged generations from Roger Staubach to Troy Aikman and who was so tough he taught himself to walk again in middle age after a neurological disorder left him with no feeling below the waist, died Thursday at 70 in Windsor, Colo., after a stroke.
Rafferty’s daughter, Rachel Powers, said her father had been hospitalized since early May.
Born and raised in New York and drafted in the fourth round out of Penn State in 1976, Rafferty inherited Blaine Nye’s spot at right guard in his second season. He started there or at center for two Super Bowls and 167 straight games in all, the longest streak in the organization’s history at the time, until Mark Stepnoski replaced him midway through the 1989 season.
Rafferty was typical of the men who populated Tom Landry’s offensive lines in the ’70s and ’80s: undersized at 6-3, 256 pounds, but quick, tough and smart.
Stephen Jones says Cowboys could look to familiar source to round out roster - Calvin Watkins, DMN
Maybe the Cowboys will go back to a familiar source for player acquisition.
The Cowboys have the eighth most salary cap space in the NFL at $32.1 million, according to overthecap.com, a website devoted to NFL contracts.
When it comes to the NFC East, only the Eagles ($32.45 million) have more space than the Cowboys.
That space doesn’t necessarily mean the Cowboys will make any more moves in free agency. In the last few years, the biggest finds in the offseason came from the UFL. The club signed returner/wide receiver KaVontae Turpin and kicker Brandon Aubrey from the USFL, before it merged with the XFL to form the UFL. Both developed into Pro Bowl players. Turpin signed a three-year deal this offseason, making him the highest-paid special-teams player in the NFL.
“We don’t have anything that’s on the front burner,” Cowboys co-owner Stephen Jones said Tuesday. “Obviously, we’re paying a little attention. We’ve found a player or two through the UFL. We’re watching that in terms of those guys doing a good job over there and we’ll see if there’s anybody who can help us there and we’ll just keep our eyes on what might become available.”
The Cowboys have signed nine players in free agency and added four via trades this offseason. It’s quite possible the team isn’t done.
Dallas Cowboys coaching staff made a surprising decision regarding highly important rookie during OTAs - Yardbarker
A Cowboys rookie is getting a look with the 1s.
For many analysts, the Dallas Cowboys’ best pick of the 2025 NFL Draft happened in the second round when they selected EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku out of Boston College. And before mandatory minicamp, his potential role on defense is getting increasingly interesting.
The Cowboys coaching staff is putting a lot on Ezeiruaku’s plate as insider Nick Harris from the Forth Worth Star-Telegram reports the rookie has ”been getting a lot of run with the ones in OTAs.”
Naturally, Ezeiruaku’s snap count in practice is influenced by Micah Parsons’ absence from the voluntary portion of the offseason. However, it’s another decision by the coaching staff that turned heads during the final week of OTAs and ahead of mandatory minicamp.
Ezeiruaku was playing at off-ball linebacker for a “couple of snaps,” per ESPN’s Todd Archer. According to the reporter, he looked comfortable in the position. Now granted, the Cowboys were deploying a unique defensive front so this could be a very specific thing the team was looking at, but the defense has enough linebacker depth to brush off Ezeiruaku’s use as “nothing.”
Joe Milton shows off viral athleticism in Dallas Cowboys photo shoot - Rudy Gurzi,SI.com
Apparently the Cowboys new backup QB is quite the specimen.
It’s easy to think of Joe Milton as a traditional pocket quarterback. The new Dallas Cowboys backup is a mammoth of a human being at 6-foot-5 and 246 pounds.
He’s not just built like a pocket passer either, with Milton possessing a rocket arm. His size and power are deceiving, however, as Milton possesses otherworldly athleticism.
Milton recently went viral for doing a backflip at a Cowboys’ practice. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, new video is making the rounds of him performing the flip in full gear.
This isn’t something Milton just picked up. He’s been able to wow fans with his talent for years, even capping off his first rushing touchdown in the NFL with a flip in the end zone.
Three biggest positions of need for the Dallas Cowboys as training camp nears - Nick Harris, Star-Telegram
Harris points to DT, Cornerback and Safety as the biggest holes, and offers this take on the cornerback position:
“Between guys like Diggs and Revel and guys that can make a big difference for us, we’ll know more when we get to camp,” Stephen Jones said on Tuesday.
While new addition Kaiir Elam has been one of the defensive standouts in OTAs, there are still questions about what the starting lineup would look like if Diggs and/or Revel are not ready for week one.
DaRon Bland offers the safest spot, especially with his ability to play outside or in the slot. Elam would take the other outside spot. The question would be who the third cornerback would be at either slot or opposite of Elam on the boundary.
Options such as Israel Mukuamu, Kemon Hall and Andrew Booth Jr. have been thrown out during OTAs, but a safe veteran option could give the team the buffer it needs to allow Diggs and Revel to come back on their own pace.
While trading for Jalen Ramsey and his large contract is not in the team’s plans, according to multiple team sources, veteran free agents such as Rasul Douglas, Asante Samuel Jr. and Stephon Gilmore remain on the open market. Adding one to the roster on a cheap one-year deal would be an ideal situation heading into training camp.