The Dallas Cowboys are in the middle of a scheme change on the defensive side of the ball going into the 2026 season, and with that has already come some tough decisions for the coaching staff and front office.
Of those, arguably no choice was more difficult to make than trading away defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a third-round pick (No. 92 overall) in the draft. A captain from last season, Odighizuwa spent five years with the Cowboys after being drafted in the third round in 2021. But in the move to a more 3-4 front, Odighizuwa was viewed as a surplus that the team could use elsewhere.
“Anytime you go through a scheme change that’s going to be adjustments where you move on from an incredible person, incredible leader in Osa,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “That was one of the hard ones. I’m happy to share with you guys, I wept. We both wept on the phone together. It was hard, but that’s the nature of the business, and I’m thrilled that he’s going to a place that is a great fit for him.”
In five seasons, Odighizuwa played in 84 games (missed just one game) while accumulating 216 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and 17.0 sacks. Off the field, he had steadily become a bigger voice in the locker room, specifically for the team after the passing of teammate Marshawn Kneeland during the 2025 season. His respect earned him captain status for the duration of the year in Schottenheimer’s first season as head coach.
“That’s part of the deal, [it’s] about having hard conversations,” Schottenheimer said. “Everyone understands this is a business. Literally, Osa and I sat on the phone for 20, 25 minutes, weeping and crying. We were both crying. He’s like, ‘Coach, I understand.’ I go, ‘I know you do, but it doesn’t make it any easier.’”
Before the trade was made, owner Jerry Jones said he was working to try and figure out a way for Odighizuwa to work in the new scheme, potentially as more of an outside presence than he’d been during his career with his length. He even had a Hall of Famer in his back pocket that was ready to help him with that transition.
“Don’t think that a lot of time wasn’t spent, trying to picture — I more than anybody — him with those long arms getting out there on the outside and giving us that [presence] on the outside,” Jones said. “So, I never did agree when those coaches were telling me, ‘That’s not the best spot.’ That was there. Charles Haley told me, ‘You get him out there, and I’ll show him how to get going.’”
Now on paper, the Cowboys can use the No. 92 overall selection acquired in the trade to go grab a defender at a different position — one of need — going into next season. After extending Odighizuwa last offseason, the Cowboys acquired fellow defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark in trades, making Odighizuwa more of an expendable asset.
“Everybody on that team recognized how high quality that he was,” Jones said. “And it was, in our case, a question of having an opportunity to do something that actually can be good for him. That’s not what anybody wants to hear. It’s good for us. We can take those same resources, and we can put it into another part of that defense and be better off with the scheme that we’re in.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.