The calendar has hit March, and that means a pivotal free agency period for the Dallas Cowboys is nearly upon us.
Coming off a season that began with playoff hopes and ended with a 7-10 record, the Cowboys have some major personnel decisions to make. Prominently among those is whether or not to retain the services of a stud defensive tackle who is likely close to getting a big paycheck.
Rapoport: Cowboys working to get new deal for DT Osa Odighizuwa
Twenty-six-year-old Osa Odighizuwa had something of a breakout season in 2024, just as he was getting set to hit the open market. He set new career-highs in sacks and quarterback hits, but he’s better known as a preeminent run-stopper.
Spotrac currently projects Odighizuwa for a three-year, $63 million contract, which could be difficult for Dallas, which has only $3.8 million in cap space at this moment, to finagle even after restructuring contracts.
On Friday, ESPN’s Aaron Schatz projected that Odighizuwa would instead sign with the Detroit Lions, who won eight more games than the Cowboys in 2024 but need to reload coming off a disappointing Divisional Round loss.
“After this past season’s injury cascade, the Lions just need to load up on as many good defensive players as possible,” Schatz wrote.
“As a high-motor pass rusher on the inside, Odighizuwa could replace the departing Levi Onwuzurike and rotate with Alim McNeill up front. He had career highs this past season with 4.5 sacks and 33 pressures. The latter was tied for second among interior linemen.”
It certainly would make sense as a career move for Odighizuwa to sign with the team that tied for the NFL’s best record this past season. Plus, the Lions have $51.5 million in cap space, so they could afford his deal fairly comfortably if they felt he was a fit.
But with all that said, Dallas knows best what sort of impact Odighizuwa can have. They could be preparing to do everything in their power to keep him in town.
