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Osa Odighizuwa was one of the few bright spots on defense last season. Why trade him away if you're trying to get better? Especially after just having given him a new contract. Help me understand this please! – Kyle Cox/East Dubuque, IL
Nick: I think Osa is a really good player. I don't think he had a really good contract. When you look at the numbers - there are 16 defensive tackles in the NFL that make over $20 million per season and the Cowboys have three of them. That's not very good optics.
I think you can argue Osa is better and has more upside than Kenny Clark from an analytics standpoint, but it doesn't sound like that's what Christian Parker is trying to build on THIS defense. Sometimes we get caught up in PFF grades and other NFL reporters that talk about players overall, but not for the specific scheme. Look at the DTs the Cowboys have now, and they're all around 300 pounds or more. Otto Ogbonna is a different looking player that the DTs we've seen here recently in Osa and Thomas.
Plus, getting a third-round pick in return for Osa and getting out from under that contract were other reasons the Cowboys decided to move on. If you're loaded at one spot, you need to balance out the defense a little more than trading away a piece like that is one way to get it done.
It's not great for the locker room considering what a leader Osa is but it's one of those deals where the Cowboys are trying to change the defense and maybe he just wasn't the right fit for what Parker is looking for.
Patrik: I think for a couple of reasons. While I don't agree with sending away starting-caliber depth at a position that has plagued the Cowboys in recent years, the team was hellbent on getting a Day 2 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, so that's their first justification. The other is the simple fact they wanted the contract off of the books after acquiring both Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams last season. It's a lot of money to have locked up at defensive tackle, and though they only save just under $5 million by trading Odighizuwa in 2026, they'll get plenty more in 2027 and beyond.
This does put the onus on not only incoming lineman Otito Ogbonnia to be a dynamic rotational guy, but also for Jay Toia to take a massive leap in Year 2, having found it difficult to make it onto the gameday roster consistently in Year 1. But the Cowboys clearly believe both can be done and, again, they wanted the third-round pick and current + future cap savings for whatever other deals they might strike in free agency, so there's the answer as to why they did it.

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