The Dallas Cowboys are entering a new era of football in 2025. In January, they moved on from Mike McCarthy and promoted Brian Schottenheimer from offensive coordinator to head coach.
Schottenheimer and the rest of the Cowboys’ brass have the tough challenge of putting together a playoff/championship roster this offseason despite only having a projected $2.4 million in cap space.
With such little cap space, Dallas won’t be able to land a big-time free agent. But the hope is that the Cowboys can re-sign a few of their guys before the new league year begins. One of those pending free agents is defensive lineman Oza Odighizuwa.
According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, Dallas has begun contract negotiations with the 26-year-old defensive tackle. Moore also noted that the team hopes to retain Jourdan Lewis and Rico Dowdle.
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— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) February 24, 2025
Odighizuwa is coming off his best year in a Cowboys uniform, posting 47 combined tackles, 33 quarterback pressures, 23 quarterback hits, five tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks this past season.
Over his four-year career with the Cowboys, Odighizuwa has produced 172 combined tackles, 58 quarterback hits, 13.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.
Odighizuwa could easily land a multi-year contract from another team in free agency based on his age and production in Dallas. Spotrac projects Odighizuwa’s calculated market value as a three-year, $62M deal.
Regardless of whatever deal the former third-round pick gets from Dallas, they must make room to re-sign him and their other guys. The Cowboys could restructure a few of their larger deals and cut a couple of players to give them some wiggle room.
The Cowboys’ defensive line depth was tested often last season, but Odighizuwa proved to be one of their most consistent players. They cannot let him leave Dallas, especially if they want to compete in 2025.