Cowboys starting offensive tackle expected to miss rest of season

Dallas Cowboys right tackle Terence Steele suffered a torn ACL during the team’s 27-23 win over the Houston Texans. 

On Monday, medical tests confirmed what the Cowboys feared. The team’s official website revealed Steele sustained a season-ending injury. He will miss the remainder of the season and playoffs.

Steele, the 25-year-old in his third season after going undrafted out of Texas Tech, had played over 95% of the offensive snaps for Dallas this season.

In the second-quarter, Steele was injured after he was rolled into during a pass play. He needed considerable help from the team’s training staff in getting off the field.

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Cowboys reserve offensive lineman Josh Ball came on in relief but was largely ineffective. Ball was replaced for the game’s final drive by nine-time Pro Bowler Jason Peters.

Peters is a traditional left tackle who had also seen time playing left guard this year for the Cowboys, his first with the team. The 40-year-old had not taken a snap at the right tackle position since 2005.

‘Man, I had no idea that I was gonna do that,’ Peters said following the win, via the team website. ‘The O-line started going down, and they dressed me for a reason, so I just went in and tried to help the team out and get the win.’

Steele saw 14 starts in his rookie season of 2020 and then saw profound improvement in 2021 filling in for the suspended La’El Collins and even starting in place of an injured Tyron Smith at left tackle. The 320-pounder capped off his sophomore year by catching a touchdown pass against Washington.

Steele’s more-than-solid performance helped make Collins expendable in the offseason and cemented his own place in the 2022 Cowboys starting lineup at right tackle.

Peters as a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option worked on Sunday. But with Steele lost, now the Cowboys will need to devise a plan for the regular slate’s final four games and the postseason.