Sources: Cowboys RT Steele gets $86.8M deal
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Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys continue to lock up key pieces by signing right tackle Terence Steele to a five-year extension worth $86.8 million, including $50 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.
Since the start of training camp, the Cowboys have signed Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs to a five-year, $97 million deal and safety Malik Hooker to a three-year deal worth up to $24 million and reworked the contract for All-Pro right guard Zack Martin, guaranteeing him $36 million over the next two seasons.
The club would also like to sign receiver CeeDee Lamb to an extension. Quarterback Dak Prescott is signed through 2024 and All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons is eligible for an extension for the first time after this season.
Steele’s contract can max out at $91.8 million, sources told Schefter.
Steele, 26, joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech in 2020, starting 14 games. He started 13 games in 2021 and 2022 but suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and medial patellofemoral ligament in his left knee to end his 2022 season.
While he was limited in his work during the offseason program, he did not miss a practice in training camp and will start in the season opener against the New York Giants next week.
“It’s been a long road,” Steele said last week. “Just taking it day by day, super proud of how I approached it and just how my teammates and my coaches and my family have been there supporting me. Without them, it would’ve been a lot harder.”
Steele made an immediate impression on coach Mike McCarthy in 2020.
“I can remember watching him move in rookie orientation there, the pandemic year, just being impressed with him [from] day one and we hadn’t even put the pads on yet,” McCarthy said last week. “His work ethic and just the way he goes about it, I mean, he’s always been no-nonsense, extremely coachable, very bright, and he’s a glue guy. I mean, he’s really connected strongly not only in the O-line room but the locker room. Terence is a stud.”
