Terence Steele suffered a devastating injury against the Texans, one that will keep him off of the field until the 2023 season — costing the Cowboys one of their best players in the process.
FRISCO, TX — It's unfortunately the end of the line for Terence Steele in 2022. The starting right tackle suffered a torn ACL in the Dallas Cowboys narrow victory over the Houston Texans in Week 14, instantly creating a question mark at yet another key position.
Steele's knee was rolled into during a play late in the second quarter, and couldn't return to his feet afterwards. He was eventually helped off of the field and into the locker room, where he was deemed to have suffered a major knee injury, though additional tests were required.
Those tests revealed the worst-case scenario on Monday.
In his absence on Sunday, the Cowboys gave Josh Ball a test drive, but things didn't go well and, with the game on the line, head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive line coach Joe Philbin sent in nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters to protect the right side of quarterback Dak Prescott.
The result was a 98-yard game-winning drive.
It's unknown if Peters will be tasked with remaining the starter going forward, though he easily appears to be the best option, despite having not taken a single snap in that role since 2005 — before being asked to do it on Sunday. Ball remains an option as well, as does Aviante Collins, the latter having been elevated from the practice squad on more than one occasion this season.
News of Steele's injury comes only days before the Cowboys are hoping to activate eight-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tyron Smith to the 53-man roster, assuming there are no setbacks in preparation to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The question of who the five starters would be with the return of Smith is now exacerbated with the loss of Steele, and it's an equation the Cowboys must solve quickly as the Christmas Eve battle against the Eagles (and the playoffs, eventually) speed toward them.
Steele is one of the best players on the Cowboys offensive line, if not the entire team altogether.
