The Dallas Cowboys didn’t just reshape their defensive line this offseason — they blew it up and started over. And the biggest move landed one of their most productive pass rushers squarely in enemy territory.
On Wednesday, March 11, 2026, the NFL’s new league year became official, and with it came confirmation of a deal that had been quietly building for weeks: the Cowboys are sending defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick, the 92nd overall selection. It’s a clean transaction on paper, but the story behind it is anything but simple.
Why Dallas Let Him Go
Odighizuwa wasn’t leaving because he’d fallen off. The former UCLA product, drafted by Dallas in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, spent five seasons building one of the more quietly impressive resumes on the roster — 17 sacks, 34 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles. His 2025 campaign alone featured 44 tackles, 28 assists, 3.5 sacks, and 23 quarterback hits. That’s not a player you move unless something else is going on.
Something else was definitely going on. Last offseason, Odighizuwa inked a 4-year, $80 million contract — a deal that carries a $20.75 million cap hit in 2026. Then Dallas turned around and signed both Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams, two established interior defensive linemen who immediately crowded the depth chart. Suddenly, a $20 million tackle became a luxury the Cowboys couldn’t quite justify keeping.
That’s the catch. You pay a guy that kind of money, add two more bodies at his position, and then wonder why the cap math doesn’t work. It’s the kind of organizational miscalculation that front offices rarely admit to — and rarely have to, as long as they find a willing trade partner.
The Rest of the Defensive Shuffle
Odighizuwa wasn’t the only defensive tackle Dallas moved. The Cowboys are also trading Solomon Thomas — along with a seventh-round pick (225th overall) — to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for Tennessee’s own seventh-rounder, pick 218. Thomas had a serviceable 2025 with 27 tackles and 3 tackles for loss, but at this point he’s roster filler, and the Cowboys are clearly trimming wherever they can.
Still, trading two defensive tackles in the same week while simultaneously loading up on new ones is a bold — some might say chaotic — way to run an offseason. The Cowboys, to their credit, seem to have a plan.
Building Around the Edges
On the edge, Dallas made a move that has fans considerably more excited. Rashan Gary, acquired via trade from the Green Bay Packers, didn’t waste any time making his feelings known. “I just can’t wait to go to work and show the Cowboys Nation what I’m all about,” Gary said — and given the pass-rush pedigree he brings, it’s hard not to take that at face value.
The Gary acquisition, paired with the Clark and Williams signings up front, suggests Dallas is betting big on a remade defensive front. Whether that gamble pays off depends heavily on how those new pieces fit together — and how much the Cowboys miss Odighizuwa’s motor when things get tight in January.
Prescott Gets a New Backup, Too
It hasn’t been all defense. On the offensive side of the ledger, Dallas quietly added quarterback Sam Howell to the roster. Howell — a well-traveled signal-caller who’s made stops with the Commanders, Seahawks, and Eagles — joins Dak Prescott and Joe Milton as part of what is now a three-man quarterback room. It’s depth, plain and simple. But in a league where backup quarterbacks can define a season, it’s not nothing.
The Cowboys, for all the noise of this particular offseason, are clearly trying to thread a needle — staying competitive around Prescott while restructuring a defense that underperformed expectations in 2025. Trading Odighizuwa to a conference rival is a calculated risk, one that nets them a mid-round pick but hands the 49ers a proven pass rusher at a time when San Francisco is hardly short on talent.
San Francisco gets a hungry interior lineman with something to prove. Dallas gets cap room, a third-round pick, and a new-look defensive front that could either be a revelation or a cautionary tale. The league year just started — and already, it’s complicated.
