Terence Steele
Dallas CowboysModel Score
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
Season Stats · 17 games
Draft & College
STM Take
$87M Cowboys extension as a 2020 Texas Tech UDFA puts Steele in the rarest outlier-positive market value RT class. The 2023 ACL plus the limited recovery production puts continued durability question on every projection. The 2026 question is whether Steele returns to tier 5-6 territory or whether the structural injury wear creates major contract-value risk on the $87M deal.
Steele came out of Texas Tech as a 2020 undrafted free agent signed by the Dallas Cowboys. He emerged into the Cowboys' starting right tackle role across six seasons and signed a five-year, $87M extension in 2023. He tore his ACL midway through 2023 and missed extensive time.
Strengths
- $87M Cowboys extension as a 2020 Texas Tech UDFA puts him in the rarest outlier-positive market value class at the RT position.
- Texas Tech Big 12 UDFA origin plus six years of Cowboys system experience gives him real journeyman veteran market value.
Concerns
- 2023 ACL plus the limited recovery production puts continued durability question on every 2026 projection.
- $15M+ 2026 cap hit on the $87M Cowboys extension creates major contract-value risk if Steele cannot return to tier 5-6 territory.
What to watch: Whether Steele returns to tier 5 (top 40) in 2026, the threshold for closing the gap between $87M contract and STTM ranking.