It’s time for Cowboys to bench this highly-paid player and try something new

reidhanson

Not much is going right in Dallas these days. Fresh of their 30-24 loss to San Francisco, the Cowboys find themselves saddled with a losing record, 2.5 games back in the NFC East, and facing one of the toughest remaining schedules in the NFL. Changes are needed and all options deserve consideration.

One such idea is to make a change at the right tackle position. On one hand the Cowboys have stalwart Terence Steele locked and loaded for the foreseeable future. Steele was re-signed in the offseason of 2023 and is under contract through 2028. On the other hand, Steele isn’t playing well and at a cap charge of $18,125,000, he may be too costly for the Dallas front office to justify next season.

The player working behind Steele at RT has been Matt Waletzko. Waletzko, a fifth-round pick from 2022, has been a project player for the past two seasons. Injuries have slowed his development, and preseason action has looked rough, but Waletzko is an inexpensive player who’s signed through next season. If the Cowboys plan to move on from Steele over the winter, it makes sense to test his replacement in advance.

Although maybe Waletzko isn’t the answer. Maybe that’s just swapping one problem with a bigger problem. With reserve tackle Asim Richards, it’s possible the Cowboys have Steele’s replacement somewhere else on their roster. Richards, a former college left tackle who Dallas took in the fifth round in 2023, is a low-cost alternative the Cowboys have been determined to develop.

The only problem is that’s been on the left side.

Richards is signed through the 2026 season, meaning Dallas would get over two more years of cheap labor from the former Tar Heel if they went his direction instead. That may not matter much to fans but to the front office such a possibility is golden.

Steele has always been a controversial figure in Dallas. The former undrafted free agent was thrown into the fire as a rookie and morphed himself into a success story. Prior to a catastrophic knee injury suffered late in 2022, Steele was regarded as an elite run blocker capable of dominating opponents at the line and on the move.

His pass protection often left something to be desired, so when the Cowboys re-signed Steele coming off the injury, more than a few eyebrows were raised. Now nearly two years removed from the injury, Steele is still dividing fans over his value. Steele has reclaimed much of his glory as a run blocker, ranking in Pro Football Focus’ top 10 amongst run blocking OTs this season. But as a pass protector he’s been nothing short of terrible.

Despite playing in only seven games, Steele’s 23 pressures allowed are tied for third worst amongst OTs in 2024. Of the 76 OTs PFF graded this season, Steele ranks just 53^rd. He’s one of the NFL’s highest paid OTs but he consistently grades in the bottom in pass protection, a score validated by film review and total pressures allowed. Waletzko and Richards may not be the answer but five years into the Steele experiment, it’s clear he isn’t either.

According to Over the Cap, cutting Steele becomes financially feasible this coming offseason. The team would save $14 million in 2025 by designating him a post-June 1 cut. If the writing is really on the wall for Steele, it makes more sense to test his replacements now than to wait until March when the real decisions become due.