For years, the Dallas Cowboys hoped Osa Odighizuwa would take his game to another level. He had the physical tools and skills to be one of the most dominant interior defenders in the game, but that just never came to fruition.
With Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams arriving in Arlington, the Cowboys ultimately had to make a decision. As much as they liked their former third-round pick, shipping him to the San Francisco 49ers for a future third-round selection was a no-brainer. Especially after the Cowboys DT room became a financial logjam, paying a total of $63 million for three guys, Jerry Jones knew he had to do something.
Odighizuwa's playing time decreased under Matt Eberflus, and his outlook wasn't much better under Christian Parker. Even though he failed to step up, it seems he's holding some grudges against his former team. Talking to NFL.com's Bobby Kownack, he vowed to take his game to the next level in the Bay Area:
"For the past five years I haven't scratched the surface of the player that I am," Odighizuwa said. "It hasn't been put on full display, so I just plan on putting that on display."
Osa Odighizuwa felt misused by the Dallas Cowboys
To be fair to the former Cowboys DT, the Cowboys' interior defense hasn't necessarily been great since he entered the league. He's had to deal with a revolving door of defensive coordinators, none of whom were able to stop the run.
That said, the Cowboys can also blame him for not stepping up. They gave him a four-year, $80 million contract because they truly believed in him and his potential, yet he didn't deliver starting-caliber play more often than not. Otherwise, they wouldn't have even gone after Quinnen Williams.
Despite starting 76 of the 84 games he played with the Cowboys, Odighizuwa never had more than 4.5 sacks, averaging 3.5 per season. He also logged 23 QB hits in back-to-back seasons (led all DTs in 2025), but his inability to finish plays was frustrating to watch at times.
The Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the league last season, and something just had to change. Sometimes, that means moving on from the guys who are always on the verge of breaking out but constantly fail to push through. Mazi Smith was an obvious cut candidate last season, and the bowling ball only continued to roll. Otito Ogbonnia still has to prove it out there, but Odighizuwa's time was up.
Who knows? Maybe that change of scenery will be just what he needs to make an impact in run defense. The 49ers always hang their hat on their hard-hitting defense, so that's certainly a possibility.
That said, he's been in the league long enough to make it feel like that's just not going to happen. He might be closer to a finished product, and while he's not necessarily a bad player, he's clearly not a $20 million-guy-a-year. The Cowboys will host his new team in Week 10, and that'll allow him to put his money where his mouth is.
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