GS. END OF AN ERA: The Cowboys’ Brass Has Quietly Decided the Fate of Their 83-Game Warrior – A Staple of the Lineup Is Officially on the Chopping Block.
The Dallas Cowboys are going to have a very stark fiscal reality to deal with after the 2025 season concludes.
As it stands, the Cowboys are set to be around $35.5 million over the cap next year, and decisions will have to be made about many of the team’s better players. Among them is whether veteran right tackle Terence Steele remains worth his price tag.
An undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech who went from practice squadder to longtime starter, Steele has played in 88 games for the Cowboys, starting 83 of them.
He inked a $82.5 million extension in September of 2023, but just two seasons later, that deal could also make him a financial casualty.
Could Dallas Cowboys Cut Starting OL Terence Steele in 2026?
Cowboys Wire’s K.D. Drummond looked at ways the team could save money in 2026, and in addition to the expected moves — contract restructures for stars like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, for example — Drummond listed Steele as a likely cap casualty.
“The Cowboys didn’t touch Steele’s 2025 base salary, a clear indication they wanted options following this season,” Drummond wrote on November 9. “He just hasn’t ascended to a point where his early extension now looks like a bargain and the team will likely want to move on this coming offseason as they reach the escape year of his deal.”
Thrown into the lineup as a 23-year-old in 2020, he had some growing pains before maturing into a steady, dependable tackle. His five-year deal included $23.55 million fully guaranteed and nearly $50 million in total guarantees, placing him among the top ten highest-paid right tackles in football at the time. Clearly, Dallas values him, and his story has been a compelling one.
The 6-foot-6, 320-pound O-lineman suffered a devastating ACL and MCL tear in 2022, and he rehabbed hard to reclaim his spot without visible decline. His 2025 season, at least so far, has been relatively consistent. Still, he could be a cap casualty simply due to the amount of hefty contracts Dallas has to dole out.
More on Why Steele Could Be a Goner in 2026
Releasing Steele before June 1 next year would create roughly $8.75 million in savings, but it would also leave $9.37 million in dead money. A post–June 1 designation would clear a cleaner $14 million while deferring a modest dead-cap charge to 2027.
Performance metrics could also complicate Steele’s case to stick around after 2025. His play, while solid, hasn’t always matched the upper tier his salary suggests. It’s fair to suggest he’s a slightly above-average starter, but not a dominant one.
That said, if the Cowboys do decide to part ways with Steele in 2026, it would be less a referendum on the veteran O-lineman’s value, but rather, an reflection of the Cowboys’ financial situation. He has been, by every reasonable measure, a success over his six-year NFL career. But along with CeeDee and Dak, Dallas is going to have to dole out big money to new addition Quinnen Williams, and that could mean Steele’s days as a Cowboy are numbered.
