2024 Roster Review: Starting Offensive Line – Part 9 of 17. Click here to view all articles in this series.
The Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line had its moments during the 2023 season.
Unfortunately, not all of them were good.
The starting five did not start every game together. Injuries have taken their toll at both ends of the line.
One player may be at the end of the line as far as his career goes. Another is still not back to the player he once was, and may never again be.
And the anchor of the line did not exactly set the NFL world on fire in 2023.
As the Cowboys go into the 2024 season, a few too many lingering questions from last year will need to be answered before the opening kickoff.
Tyron Smith
The Cowboys’ left tackle played his 13th NFL season in 2023. A first round pick in 2011 – ninth overall – out of USC, Smith has been a force on the line.
He’s made the Pro Bowl in eight of his seasons.
But he hasn’t played a full season since starting all 16 games in 2015.
In five of his last eight seasons – including last year — Smith has only played in 13 games in each year. In 2020 he played in just two games.
After playing in 11 games in 2021, he only played in four games in 2022. Injuries have take their toll on him.
He either did not play, or was inactive, in four games in 2023 – including losses to Arizona and Miami.
He was limited in practice several times. Dallas was clearly trying to save him as much as they could.
When he was on the field, he was solid. But he isn’t getting any younger and he’s a free agent.
The Cowboys could bring him back of course, but it would have to be for a more team-friendly contract.
Otherwise, there’s a good chance Dallas will have a new left tackle in 2024.
Tyler Smith
Another first rounder – the 24th pick from Tulsa in 2022 – Smith has started in all 31 games he’s played in.
He played in every game during his rookie season. In 2023 he was inactive for three but started the other 14.
Smith has been solid at guard for Dallas so far.
The great news is that he’s on his rookie deal. If Dallas triggers its fifth year option, Smith won’t be a free agent until 2027.
Barring a holdout left guard is not a position of concern for the Cowboys.
Tyler Biadasz
Biadasz was a fourth-round draft pick in 2020 out of Wisconsin.
He started four games at center in 2020 before losing the job due to injury. He has started every game at center for Dallas over the past three full seasons.
Biadasz is a free agent this spring. He might not be brought back.
Reviewing the past season’s game film revealed one of the weak links on the offensive line was the play it got from the center.
The Cowboys have options to turn to that are already on the roster without having to use up a draft pick to address the position.
The upcoming draft and free agency will reveal which way Dallas is leaning. But there is a better chance than not that Biadasz will be playing elsewhere in 2024.
Zack Martin
Another first rounder – the 16th pick in 2014 – Martin arrived from Notre Dame and started at guard in his first game.
Aside from 10 games — either inactive or on injured reserve – he’s started every game since. He’s started in 152 career games in 10 seasons.
He’s been a Pro Bowler every year except for the 2020 season when he missed six games due to injury.
The good news is that the 34-year-old Martin is signed for 2024. The bad news is that he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the end of the season.
As with Tyron Smith, the Cowboys will need to make another long-term decision on Martin’s future.
Terence Steele
Steele was an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech when he was signed by the Cowboys in 2020.
He was an immediate starter and was solid on the line.
He went down with a knee injury late in the 2022 season. Despite that, Dallas signed Steele to a massive contract extension.
It was a gamble that didn’t appear to pay off in 2023.
Steele clearly wasn’t back to 100% and arguably was the weakest link on the line among the starting five.
The Cowboys are literally stuck with Steele and his contract through the end of the 2025 season when they have an out.
If they take it, it will cost them $6 million in dead cap money in 2026. They will pay another $3 million in 2027.
For Dallas, the best possible outcome is for Steele to regain his form and play out his contract in full until he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2029.
