3 recently-extended Cowboys should be released in 2026 – Mark Heaney, Inside The Star
Dallas could save money by letting go these three names.
3. Terence Steele: High-Cost Gamble Needs To End After 2025 Season
Lastly, we have Terence Steele, the Cowboys’ starting right tackle since essentially the 2020 NFL season. In December 2022, he tore his ACL and MCL in a major knee injury; not even a year later, Dallas gave him a five-year, $86M extension.
It was a huge gamble that banked on Steele returning to form. They tied themselves to him until 2028 without seeing him on the field after the injury.
I give him credit for how he has rebounded, and he certainly has seen some decent highs since the new contract, but this year, above all else, has proven to me that they need to sever ties after the 2025 season.
Cutting Steele would save money, which Dallas desperately needs to do, and it would also open the door for a younger, higher-ceiling player to take over at right tackle. People tend to forget that Steele is already 28 years old, and he will be 29 before next season.
After further review: Cowboys surprise players weren’t so rewarding against the Lions- Dan Rogers, Blogging The Boys
Poor timing for Dallas’ good luck to run out.
Nate wasn’t that great
The Cowboys’ offensive line has been great for most of the season, despite several players missing time. It seems like whoever fills in for them ends up doing an admirable job at holding down the fort. Lately, that sound reserve has been second-year tackle Nate Thomas, who has started at left tackle the last two games while Tyler Guyton recovers from an ankle injury.
On Thursday, Thomas wasn’t at his best as the Lions’ edge rushers came at him. The coaches tried to mitigate the issue by giving him help, as Javonte Williams or one of the tight ends would regularly chip the pass rushers, but Thomas still had problems. Defenders maneuvered around him with relative ease, and sometimes the young swing tackle was just lost. He completely forgot to block the edge rusher on a third-down play that resulted in a sack and killed a Cowboys’ drive early in the second quarter. He also got flagged for holding in the third quarter, when Aiden Hutchinson beat him to the inside. It was a constant battle for Thomas, and the more the Cowboys fell behind, the harder it got.
Winners, Losers from Week 14: Aubrey stands vs avalanche of negatives – Angel Torres, Cowboys Wire
Dallas fans get an open Sunday to consider what went wrong Thursday.
Loser: LB Kenneth Murray
Kenneth Murray is a physically gifted linebacker whose talents cannot save him from being out of position on a large portion of his snaps. Teams who force him to think and react have a high chance of success, as his indecisiveness on the field has led to chunk plays fatal to their efforts.
PFF agrees as his 39.1 overall grade ranks 81st out of 84 qualifying linebackers. Additionally, his 28.4 run stopping grade is dead last in the NFL, yet Dallas keeps trotting him out there for his so-called physicality. Dallas traded a sixth-rounder for the underachieving linebacker along with a seventh-round draft choice, and are paying him $7.4 million.
Murray has deservingly gotten his fair share of criticism from team beat writers and content creators (visible in the comments section of the above tweet) but his porous play has overflowed to the point where fans are begging for his removal. The calls have gotten so loud that Brian Schottenheimer had to address a question about his snap count and performance.
Former NFL QB offers alternative opinion on George Pickens following Week 14 loss – Randy Gurzi, Sports Illustrated
It might not have been as bad as it initially looked on Thursday for George Pickens.
On Sunday, however, someone stuck up for Pickens. Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith said Pickens was taken out of the game by Detroit, saying he “got everybody open.” Smith added that there was a lot being made out of nothing, while noting how well everyone else did around Pickens.
“But for me, listen, I went back and watched every snap of this and George Pickens. Honestly, I think we’re making a lot out of nothing,” Smith said.
“This guy got doubled all game. And when I mean doubled, I mean cloud. A corner hard inside at the line of scrimmage, safety over the top. And you used to see this all the time back in the day. CeeDee Lamb, there’s a reason he got so many targets in that first half. There was no help with him. It was man-on-man with no help for him all day. There’s a reason Ryan Flournoy got all those targets in the second half because, again, George Pickens was taking two. We saw it on the interceptions. Corner sitting hard inside. He’s trying to run slant. How many times have we seen him win on those?”
Underrated Cowboys free agent target is already falling into Dallas’ lap – Mike Luciano, The Landry Hat
Dallas will certainly need defensive reinforcements this offseason.
Cowboys could target Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean in free agency
Dean has been one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL all season long, as he has finally seemed to realize how to blend his immense physical talent with the comfort in Todd Bowles’ scheme that has helped take a moribund Buccaneers defense back to respectability.
On top of the fact that Dallas is clearly going to be in attack mode as long as Prescott is the starting quarterback, the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft class is regarded as extremely thin when it comes to defensive backs. If Dallas doesn’t pay up in free agency, they could overdraft someone not worth a top pick.
While Jerry Jones may need to either go back on his word to keep all three defensive tackles or do tons of cap gymnastics to accommodate the new contracts. It’s improbable, but Jones has always been willing to shift money around if he identifies a player he has to have.
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