The Dallas Cowboys and offensive tackle Terence Steele have agreed to a five-year extension worth $86.8 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The report states that $50 million is guaranteed and can be worth a maximum of $91.8 million.
Cowboys and RT Terence Steele reached agreement on a five-year, $86.8 million contract extension that includes $50 million guaranteed, per sources. Deal has a max upside of up to $91.8 million. The contract was negotiated and confirmed by @ErikBurkhardt of @RocNationSports. pic.twitter.com/ifnAGbceSh
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 3, 2023
Terence Steele Has Battled Back From an ACL Tear
Steele has battled back to the field after suffering a season-ending ACL tear during Week 14 against the Houston Texans last season.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has continued to praise Steele throughout his recovery process, saying he continued to show up every day after the surgery.
“He hasn’t missed a day, and it’s just Terence [Steele]. He’s in there at the same time every day, doing rehab. It feels like he never left,” said McCarthy in a press conference earlier in the week.
Steele also spoke to media earlier in the week, saying, “These new scars, new battle wounds, it’s just a reminder you know what I’ve been through and just how I bounce back from it.”
Steele was ahead of schedule for his return ahead of training camp and ended up starting his ramp-up to play as projected. During training camp, Steele talked exclusively with PFN, stating his goal was to be available when the season started again. He wanted to pick up right where he left off ahead of the injury, claiming it was the best season he had played yet but that the best has yet to come.
“This is my first really big injury ever playing football, so I didn’t want to let it make me miss time. So I made a big effort in the offseason to return as quick as I could and make sure my knee came back stronger than ever.”
Steele Is Coming Off a Strong Season
Steele was an undrafted free agent coming out of Texas Tech in 2020. He has since found his strength in playing right tackle on the Cowboys’ offensive line.
In 2022, Dallas averaged 4.77 yards per carry with Steele on the field and 4.29 without him, as Matt Owen pointed out on Twitter.
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He was coming off one of his best seasons ahead of the injury and was at the top of the charts.
According to PFF in 2022:
- In Week 2, Steele allowed just three total pressures on 130 snaps.
- Ahead of Week 3, he only allowed one quarterback hit and no sacks.
- In Week 3, he did not allow a pressure.
- By Week 5, Steele ranked fifth among right tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade.
- In Week 12, he was ranked third with a grade of 85.7.
In 2021, Steele became the first lineman to score a touchdown since Rayfield Wright in 1968.
EVERY BIG MAN TD IS BIGGER IN TEXAS! #DallasCowboys
📺: #WASvsDAL on NBC
📱: https://t.co/RVn6kdfzlm pic.twitter.com/ltM10YJMr6— NFL (@NFL) December 27, 2021
